A New Kind of Fire
by idontknowwhatisthiseven
Summary: Three years after the war, inter-village collaboration is at an all-time high, opening the door to the possibility of new relationships. When Naruto and Kiba get teamed up with two Hidden Grass shinobi, Naruto finds himself distracted by the world's most infuriatingly stubborn kunoichi. - NOTE: Canon-ish, except I am taking certain liberties.
1. Chapter 1

He rolled his eyes dramatically and crossed his arms.

"But why them? I mean – "

"It's more of a gesture of goodwill, and besides, the drug ring appears to be using a route running through their nation, too. With that said, pick a shinobi to accompany you and form up the four-man team."

"Four people? Why can't we just do three Leaf? THEY'RE SO WEIRD –" More huffing.

"Naruto, please." The fact that Kakashi's face was 75% covered did nothing to hide his level of disinterest in Naruto's childish outbursts. Three years had passed since the Fourth Ninja War, and though everyone had matured, Naruto still had his moments. Or maybe Kakashi was just getting old. Or maybe everyone was restless in this time of unprecedented peace. Either way, the village needed income, and there was a lot of money offered for the shinobi that could break up a particularly nasty opiate ring that had begun to expand across nations.

"Kakashi-sensei, do we at least know anything about the two Grass shinobi?" The older man sighed again, running a hand through his spiky grey hair.

"You really don't put much faith in me, do you? I know exactly who they are, where they're from and what they're good at." Naruto stared at his sensei expectantly. Kakashi smiled. "You'll find out soon enough!" The blonde's eyes narrowed to slits.

"You may be Hokage, but I still know that you're a pervy old man!" Silence from the White Fang's son. "Kakashi-sensei, do you save that look just for me?"

"I do, Naruto. I do."

* * *

><p>It was late in the afternoon when the two Grass shinobi set foot in Konoha. They marveled at the massive, ancient gates while the door guards checked their names against their lists. The taller of the two had chocolate brown hair that was close-cropped on the sides, but flopping over the forehead protector marked with the symbol for the allied shinobi. The man was lean and muscled, wearing loose black combat pants and a khaki, long-sleeved shirt under his slate grey vest. A bright green cloak hung off of his shoulders, accentuating his kind emerald eyes. He absentmindedly played with a kunai on his belt while sightseeing. It was obvious that he was completely taken aback by the village; the place he and his travel partner had come from was comparatively small and poor. Konoha was a warm, bustling metropolis of a village compared to the Hidden Grass. The pair passed shop after shop filled with colourful goods and amazing smells. Leaf shinobi nodded in greeting at them as they passed. His eyes met his teammate's.<p>

"This place is pretty nice, isn't it?" He was trying to start small talk, but his companion was less than pleasant when hungry. In fact, she was the exact opposite of pleasant. Having run out of snacks three-quarters of the way into the journey, the woman nicknamed Soba was about ready to tear apart the village in search of something, anything, to eat. She only grunted in response to Dai's question.

"Why can't we eat before meeting Hokage-sama? Why? Who came up with this plan?" She huffed along in her tight, black pants, the sash holding her patterned wrap top on getting in the way of her right hand. A green cloak emblazoned with the zigzag Grass symbol fluttered behind her, making her katanas clatter.

"It's not really a plan so much as common courtesy, _Captain_." Dai began. He only referred to Soba as Captain when she was being ornery and needed to be reminded of her adult responsibilities; she wasn't much for titles, otherwise. That, and the two were twin siblings, so it just felt strange.

"I'll _Captain _you if we don't get something to eat, and soon."

Making the executive decision to avoid starting a war with the Leaf over his darling sister's stomach contents (or lack thereof), Dai steered the rogue Soba into the nearest ramen shop. She didn't pay any attention to where he was leading her; she just smelled food. The two sat down at the only two available seats along the bar and ordered. Dai could have sworn the woman was growling, hunched over the eating surface like a feral animal, waiting for her bowl. Her head popped up when she overheard the two people sitting down the row talking.

"For some reason, we're not allowed to take on this stupid mission alone! They're sending some Grass shinobi over and we have to deal with even more people – they're probably just going to complicate everything further!" A tall, brown-haired shinobi with red fang-like tattoos on his cheeks whined, talking more to his fluffy white dog than his blonde companion. Soba only saw the back of the blonde's head, but he sounded like he was speaking with his mouth completely full. Despite this, he still managed to achieve a stunning volume with his voice.

"I mknow! I mean, Ah'm all fow collaborafion, but dif ith tho fimple of a miffion…"

Dai put a hand on Soba's shoulder because he saw her tense up and bristle. There had been an increased amount of cross-village collaboration to keep relations strong; most shinobi, however, agreed that sometimes it really was easier to keep it within one village. The angry woman agreed with what they were saying, deep down, but the hunger monster had taken over the rational part of her brain in favour of rage.

"What a blockhead. I'll show him 'complicating things,' the foo-" Soba was halfway into her sentence when the ramen bowl was placed in front of her. Her brother sighed, thankful the chef's timing had saved the day. Dai's bowl was placed in front of him soon after, and he thanked the chef in both of their names.

…and Soba was off to the races. Though Dai, in all fairness, ate pretty quickly, it never ceased to amaze him how the woman turned into a human vacuum. Even the fang-faced whiner, called Kiba by the loud blonde, was watching her with great curiosity. He nudged the blonde, who turned his head. Dai looked up at that moment and recognized Uzumaki Naruto, who, thankfully, didn't see him gape at all.

"It's him!" Dai muttered to no one in particular. Naruto didn't hear him; he had noodles hanging from his mouth and was completely distracted by Soba's really, really unladylike eating habits. Slurping up the last of her ramen, the aggressive eater stood, oblivious to the staring. She adjusted the utility belt on her hips, smoothed her cloak and gestured to her brother. She paid for Dai's and her ramen, scooped up her small travel pack and walked out. Naruto and Kiba only just caught sight of the forehead protector wrapped around the large, tightly bound bun on top of her head before she disappeared into the street. Dai left only moments after.

"Huh, they're allied. Wonder what village they're from!" Kiba mused to his friend, neither of them putting two and two together.

Soba's earlier, nearly feral, posture then turned into elegance and poise, her back tall and straight, angled features brought into contrast by the shadows cast in twilight. With a full stomach, she was all business, and her face reflected her change in attitude. She and Dai set off to their temporary lodgings with quick, long strides. They moved nearly as one, the twins, and from the back, they almost looked like each other's shadow.

* * *

><p>The two shinobi made their way to their meeting. Being new in town, they had misread their directions, taken a few wrong turns from the apartment where they were staying, and showed up later than anticipated. Later according to Soba, anyway. They were still 10 minutes early. Hokage-sama's aide walked the two up to his office, and knocked on the door.<p>

"Come in!" The aide smiled at the two of them and opened the door, gesturing for them to enter. They walked into the room seeing the two backs of their new teammates, one tall, furry, white dog and Rokudaime Hokage's smiling face peeking out from between them. He stood by his broad desk, leaning casually on it.

"I trust you made it without too much trouble, Yukiko, Dai." The two bowed in greeting to Kakashi and nodded at their new teammates.

"We did, thank you, Hokage-sama." Three faces turned in sync to face them.

"These are your new teammates! This is Inuzuka Kiba, and Akamaru, and you may already know Uzumaki Naruto." All bowed. Soba took a good look at Naruto, clearly impressed, but trying to hide it. He was an incredibly strong shinobi and really, the world as they know it wouldn't have been the same without him. It made her a little uneasy, being on the same team.

"If it's alright, I go by Soba; I don't respond to Yukiko much anymore." Soba bowed to Kakashi and stepped in line with the other shinobi. She stood calmly, her face as blank as a canvas. Having been in a hunger rage, she didn't make the connection that the two men standing next to her had been in the ramen shop earlier. Dai, on the other hand, had noticed, as he had not been a rabid animal, and so had the two men. Naruto stared at her like she was in a zoo; so much so that Kiba had to nudge him. Kakashi already felt that this mix of personalities could be…interesting.

"Alright!" Kakashi began, "Our main mission objective is to halt a notorious opium-smuggling ring. I know you all have heard of, or maybe been involved in the preliminary intelligence gathering for this ring. The reason why we have shinobi from two villages is because this ring affects two lands. The rulers felt that it would be better if each village provided its own expertise in the matter and territory and I agree. The goal is to take down the kingpin, who we suspect is operating within Fire territory, and the main supplier, which is near the Grass village. Once these three are taken down, it will likely take some time for the ring to reorganize and then we will send in reinforcements to hopefully disperse the entire operation. We know there are some rogue shinobi acting as security, so be careful. We don't yet know what they're capable of. You will be splitting into pairs for a large portion of the mission," Teammates from the same village looked at each other and nodded, "but your partners will be from a different village. I'm appointing Yu, uh, sorry, Soba as your team captain, and I will let her divide the team as she sees fit."

"UM, Hokage-sama, wouldn't it make sense for Naruto to be team captain as he…well, it's Naruto!" Kiba protested. Dai mentally rolled his eyes in response, hoping that this is not what he would be like the whole time.

"If he hadn't complained so much about the mission, then maybe he would have been." After going over more mission details, Kakashi decided everyone needed a break. "Now. You're all dismissed! You can begin tomorrow, so get some rest tonight and make sure you're well-acquainted before you head out!" He stood and waited for the four, plus one canine, to vacate his large office. The moment all was quiet, the Hokage summoned Pakkun, sighed and returned to his paperwork.

"I have no new book to read and no goofy genin and chunin to train, Pakkun. They don't need me anymore! It's just papers. Papers all day long." He let his head hit the desk with a soft thud. Pakkun jumped up on the table beside him.

"You could retire early." Pakkun suggested, knowing full well why Kakashi hadn't resigned yet.

"No, no, this is the right thing to do. This is a good time in my life. There will be time for chess and reading later…" The pug barked his assent.


	2. Chapter 2

"You! You're the two from Ichiraku!" Naruto very nearly yelled, pointing at Soba and Dai.

"From where?" Dai asked.

"Ichiraku ramen! The ramen shop where she obliterated that entire bowl!" Naruto was particularly proud of himself for figuring this out, it seemed.

"Oh. Yes, I was really hungry." Soba brushed him off casually.

"Where did you fit all of that food?!" Naruto stared at her small waist, trying to figure out if she had a hollow leg or not.

"In my stomach." Naruto looked put out by her unenthusiastic response.

"Well, we should meet tomorrow for lunch and talk strategy! I mean, I know nothing about you two and neither of you knows anything about Kiba or me!"

"Uzumaki Naruto, son of the fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina. Nine tails jinchuuriki, wind-style user…would you like me to go into talking about sage mode and your jutsus, or?" Momentarily taken aback by her research, Naruto stops.

"Uh, well, what about Kiba, hmm?"

"Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru," Akamaru barked, "Taijutsu and ninjutsu, more specifically, Beast Human Clone, but in either case, you don't do anything without Akamaru, do you? I can go into your family, too, if you like." Kiba was one step short of smoking from the ears. Neither he nor Naruto enjoyed being embarrassed by these new faces. Before things got too heated, Dai cut in:

"Okay, Soba, we can stop now. Let's go rest and we can continue your data regurgitation another time. Good night!" Dai quickly steered Soba away from Kiba and Naruto, who, by this point, were fuming.

"Good night." Grumbled Kiba.

"Good night, I guess. We'll figure you out tomorrow! Believe it!" Naruto yelled to their retreating backs. His eyes lingered on Soba, thinking how she could maybe have been good looking if everything about her wasn't so prickly and sharp. He snapped out of his brief reverie and gestured to Kiba. "I'm going home. I think we're going to need the rest to deal with the two of them."

"I'm not worried about him; she seems like a nightmare, though…"

* * *

><p>Dai laughed when the two rounded the corner to the quarters they were staying at.<p>

"So Naruto intimidates you, huh?" He asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Dai, I have no clue what you're talking about." She lengthened her steps to add distance between them. "You always make up nonsense when you think you 'get' me." Dai laughed again.

"You are so completely predictable, imouto." He smiled to himself, shaking his head.

* * *

><p>Dai woke to brilliant sunlight filtering through the bamboo shutters. As he expected, Soba was already up, doing her morning exercises. Her breakfast had probably consisted of ramen, a disturbing habit picked up from their late mother. She had obviously been to the market already as there was a basket of apples and some assorted other snacks on the kitchen table. Those would later be packed into her little satchel for the trip. Soba was as well prepared as a shinobi could be.<p>

"Sleeping in again, I see, niisan!"

"The sun's just come up! How is that sleeping in?"

"Lazy. How could you possibly have been the first-born?" She laughed and sat down by the table. Dai was the only person Soba laughed with anymore. Laughing _at _other people, yes, laughing _with _them, not so much. The last few years had been particularly hard on her. Dai watched her unsheathe her first katana, grab her sharpening stone from the bowl of water next to her and take to honing the blade.

"At least she's at peace for right now," he thought, and started to get ready himself.

* * *

><p>Noon found the four shinobi having lunch and discussing strategy quietly in the corner of a restaurant. Naruto and Soba were subconsciously competing over who could eat more, a challenge that was going to end without a winner between them. Kiba was oblivious to their silent war, and was trying really hard to get in Dai's good graces to make sure he ended up on his team when they split up; neither he nor Naruto was particularly keen to end up with Soba for days at a time.<p>

"We'll travel together for the next two days, then split up once we reach the kingpin's main base. I'll take Naruto and Dai, you and Kiba can continue on to do some more reconnaissance on the secondary trafficking point. I think three days of recon should be enough and we can meet at the border to adjust the plan as necessary. If we're quiet and fast, this shouldn't be all that difficult. We'll capture the main criminals, scare a few of the lesser ones, and bring the captives into the right land for sentencing. Any questions?" Soba's tone suggested that questions were not welcome, but Naruto missed that.

"Why am I going with you?" Soba rounded on Naruto, her facial expression similar to that of a teacher dealing with her least intelligent pupil.

"Because," She began, slowly, her nostrils flared, "Our skill sets are best matched with this pairing. I want to make sure that, in the event of an attack, we form two well-rounded pairs." Her eyes dared him to ask another question. True to form, Naruto missed that cue too.

"How are we well-matched? You're really sour, and-"

"_I _am patient and collected, and while you obviously did pull it together when you needed to, I doubt you will for such a straightforward mission. I'll likely be babysitting you the entire time, you child. Accept your orders and move on." Dai and Kiba's conversation had died in favour of watching the two other shinobi go at it. It was like watching a catastrophic explosion in slow motion. Even Akamaru was silent, his head cocked to the side, observing the two.

"I still have no idea why Kakashi-sensei made you captain! We've had two total conversations and all you seem to do is talk down to everyone but your teammate, and treat us like we're genin!" Naruto's voice was getting progressively louder. "I think you're the one hiding your poor skills behind an awful attitude." Both Dai and Kiba's eyes widened. The two raging shinobi continued to exchange angry words, but Kiba leaned in towards Dai to whisper:

"She's your sister, right?"

"Not hard to tell, ne?" Dai responded, eyes not leaving the disaster before him. "We are twins, after all!"

"It wasn't that, actually; the two of you kinda smell similar. Definitely different, but same undertones, I guess!"

"Guess your nose is as good as they say!" Kiba puffed up a little after the comment.

"But, um, is she going to stab him after we split up?" The scruffy man was both fascinated and concerned. He couldn't seem to split the two emotions when Soba was involved. She left quite the impression, that one.

"She's not one to _physically _stab teammates, no, but she could eviscerate him with her words."

"Naruto doesn't really understand big words; he'll probably just get angry _and _confused."

"Then she's just going to think he's stupid."

"We're pretty screwed."

"We'll complete the mission if they don't argue themselves out of hiding. They have the skills, just not the team mentality. Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to break this up or should I?" Kiba shook his head 'no' violently and backed away.

"Your fireball of a sister, your intervention!"

"Aroo!" Agreed Akamaru, hiding behind Kiba's chair. Dai sighed. He stood up slowly, put a tan hand on Soba's shoulder and squeezed. The muscles beneath his palm were wound tighter than ever, but he felt them relaxing the longer he held his hand there. Soba stopped yelling almost immediately. Naruto fell silent, too. They both seemed to remember that they were grown adults, fighting in a restaurant.

"I think we should pay for lunch and get ready to head out. We'll work the kinks out as we go." Soba listened to her brother and got up from the table. Naruto crossed his arms and the suggestion of a pout settled on his face.

"Fine."

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon, and the team was well into the forests surrounding Konoha. The day could not have been more beautiful for travel. The sun was shining brilliantly in an azure sky, and the air was crisp. They had taken off at a quick pace to gain some ground, but they had slowed noticeably after a few hours. Noticing that his team was slowing, Naruto suggested they stop for a break. Not a soul complained when they found a small clearing in the forest. Akamaru curled up at the foot of an old, gnarled tree, Kiba leaning into his soft fur. Dai sat close enough so that he could pet the giant dog, which had taken a shine to him. All three were relaxing in the tall grass within seconds. Naruto sat on the other side of Kiba, eyeing Soba, who was sitting a good five metres opposite of the three men. She slung both her katanas and her satchel off of her back, placing the katanas on her right side, unobstructed, and the satchel in her lap. Kiba and Dai had continued their previous animated conversation after sitting down, but Naruto decided not to join in. He instead chose to try to make angry eye contact with Soba while pulling blades of grass in what he meant to be a symbolic gesture. She didn't look up once; she was tense and alert, her eyes darting from place to place. The tall brunette broke her own concentration for a minute, reached into her satchel and pulled out four apples and a small round cookie. She tossed an apple at each of her three human companions and the cookie at Akamaru. Dai thanked her, while Kiba and Naruto stared at her before offering a confused 'thank you.'<p>

"We're useless if we're hungry." She said quietly before taking a disproportionately large bite out of a red apple.

Soba's face never softened while they rested; she just looked angry as her attention slowly turned to the sky. Dai and Kiba were still chatting, and Naruto was lying on his back, watching the clouds roll by. His thoughts kept returning to Soba, no matter how hard he tried to focus on the mission. The man couldn't understand why she had so much pent-up anger and why she just wouldn't talk. He had never really met anyone he couldn't befriend before.

The sky had begun to turn gold when Soba stirred. Stretching her long, toned legs, she got up and put her satchel and katanas on her back. The rest of the party followed suit, climbing to their feet slowly. Naruto watched Soba for any sign of emotion but found nothing. The woman's lips were pressed together tightly, eyes focused, one hand fidgeting with a loose thread on her cloak.

"We'll travel until we get to a village, and we can stay there for the night. I have a place in mind where the presence of shinobi late at night won't be the least bit suspicious." Soba stated simply before darting off into the forest. The rest of the team followed, the blurred leaves whizzing by them as they kept up with the green cloak before them. Naruto caught up to her, without much effort, and tried engaging her in conversation.

"So, can you only say a certain number of words every day, or do you just not like talking unless you're yelling?" He began, "I mean, you haven't really even spoken to your teammate since we left!"

"One, I have nothing mission-related to say, and two, he and I talk enough in our lives." Naruto stared at the side of her face; his unruly blonde hair tossed into his eyes with the wind. Her clear green eyes met with his. He looked frustrated while her expression remained blank. "What do you want from me?"`

"You just seem kinda mad or something. I don't know. I guess I'd just like us to be teammates." Naruto offered a sheepish grin, one hand behind his head. Soba's exasperated sigh in response to that was louder than she was intending it to be, but she didn't really need to be apologizing. He was invading her privacy with all these weird psychological analyses.

"I am _not _mad. I'm focused on the task at hand and have no need for idle chatter. Plus, we're already teammates. We don't really need to be friends to be good at our jobs."

"Wouldn't it be easier if we were, though?"

"Haven't we talked enough already?" Soba's pointed look was enough to get Naruto to give up for the time being. He had already decided that they would be friends, but she was putting up a lot of resistance. Soon, he thought, she'll give in.

* * *

><p>Another couple of hours had passed, and the day was long behind them. The midnight sky was inky black and filled with twinkling white stars, but none of the shinobi were keen on staring up and admiring them. They were all tired as they approached the small village where they could stay for the night. The four and Akamaru approached what appeared to be a guesthouse and inquired about rooms; luckily, the place was nearly empty, and the owner happily led them inside despite the late hour. The house was small, and five beds were laid out on the pale wooden floor in a back room, the covers a soft pink. The house smelled warm and homey, which explained why Kiba and Akamaru were asleep moments after they lay themselves down. The remaining members began their nighttime rituals, moving slowly, but deliberately. Dai took off his cloak and vest, crossed the room and hung it up by the entrance. Soba did the same with her cloak and utility belt, taking the opportunity to pull her hair out of a bun. Naruto unzipped his orange and black jacket, tossing it in the direction of the others' outerwear. The jacket fell just short, but he couldn't be bothered to pick it up. Soba stared at the crumpled fabric on the floor, looked at Naruto, looked pointedly back at the fabric and then hung it up. The blonde gave her another sheepish grin as he wriggled under his covers. Soba just scowled. Dai wanted to laugh at their every interaction; Soba was making an extra effort to be stubborn and Naruto, after their earlier confrontation, just wanted to be friends. The older twin slipped under the covers, pulling off his forehead protector before his head hit the pillow. Sometimes, it really felt like he was way more than two minutes older.<p>

"Good night, Naruto. Night, imouto." He mumbled before dozing off.

"Good night, niisan!" After making sure her brother was asleep, Soba took out a brush from her pack and began working the knots out of her hair. She had thought everyone had gone to bed, so Naruto's voice startled her.

"Wait. He's your brother?!"

"You _just _realized that?" Soba forgot the brush still stuck in her hair and turned to face Naruto. The moonlight cast shadows across his face that exaggerated his features and made his eyes glow a pale blue. The man shrugged. Soba got up, walked over to Dai and gestured to his face, then to hers, and then back to his. "We have the same face, but his is more masculine, obviously. Our eyes and hair are also nearly the same colour-"

"He's just so nice, though! Plus, you look-" Naruto paused to think of an appropriate word, "-pointier."

"…pointier."

"Yeah, I guess!" That hand behind the head gesture, again. The hem of his shirt rode up, and Soba's eyes flicked to the curve of his hip. He had matured a lot since the war. As a shinobi, she thought quickly. As a shinobi. He just happened to be taller and more muscular, which allowed him to do his job better, she told herself.

"I am not pointy! My features are just more angled and - why am I even arguing this with you? Dai is my twin brother and that is that."

"How come he calls you his little sister, then?"

"When we were little, we decided that he was a few minutes older." Soba resumed brushing her hair and turned her attention to the velvety darkness outside.

"Didn't your mom remember which one was born first?" Naruto's questions were innocent, but he was encroaching on territory Soba wasn't keen on exploring with anyone.

"I'm sure she did." With a tone as cold as ice, she ended their conversation. Naruto mumbled a disappointed good night and was soon snoring softly. Soba stood by the window, brushing her hair absentmindedly. It was more of a habit than a necessity by that point, but she held onto her little rituals tightly; whatever control she could maintain in the chaos of this world was precious to her. Putting her brush down, Soba grabbed a rice ball from her satchel and shoved it in her mouth.

Hours later, she decided she could sleep. Though this village was safe, she never knew what was around the corner, and it was better to ensure her team's well being than to get rest. She padded over to her mattress and was asleep in minutes, despite the fact that Kiba and Akamaru were snoring loudly enough to wake the dead.

* * *

><p>Note: Comments and constructive criticism are welcome! Thanks for reading :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Waking from a dreamless sleep, Naruto assessed his surroundings. He was not one for waking up near dawn, but something had triggered his internal alarm. Kiba, Akamaru and Dai were splayed out on their beds like starfish, with the former two drooling onto a pillow. The messy-haired blonde looked up to find Soba, cross-legged on the floor in her pants and an undershirt, eating ramen. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to remain slightly creepy by watching her stuff her face in the early morning light, or whether to get up and try to befriend her. Being ever the gentleman, he opted to be creepy for a little while longer; he pulled his covers up to his nose so she wouldn't be able to tell he was awake. Soba slurped up the rest of her noodles, wrapped her top around herself and left the room. Naruto popped up into a sitting position, trying to see where the kunoichi was heading. He rolled out of bed as silently as possible and grabbed his jacket before walking outside after Soba. Her long strides kept her a fair distance ahead of Naruto, but then again, he was trying to be sneaky. He just wasn't quite sure why he was doing that yet. She walked down the main dirt road like she was traveling a practiced path. Naruto watched from around the corner of a building, finding that she had gone to a street vendor to buy food.

Soba was more relaxed early in the morning, which is probably why she wasn't anticipating Naruto's presence to pop out at her so suddenly.

"Good morning, Soba-chan!" Reflexively, Naruto's surprised teammate grabbed for the katana that wasn't on her back. It took her a split second to realize she wasn't going to be attacked. Naruto beamed, but Soba's facial expression was somewhere between horror and confusion.

"Did…did you follow me?" She stuttered, pointing from the vendor to the direction they had walked from.

"Well, you woke me up because you're up way too early and the ramen smelled good, so I-" Naruto's words rolled off of his tongue almost all at the same time, and he avoided eye contact. Soba raised a thin eyebrow.

"So you followed me. Did you think I had more ramen in my back pocket?" She tilted her head to make eye contact with him. Naruto's eyes were completely round when she caught him with her gaze.

"No?" He was really hoping that she would be pleased to see him, not angry. He _did _technically follow her without her knowledge, but that wasn't the point. "But do you?" Soba blinked, reached into her satchel and pulled out a cup of ramen. She pressed it into Naruto's chest and while holding it there, she stared him in the eyes with an undecipherable expression. The man's eyes flicked from the ramen, up to her, and back again. He noticed how long her hair was when the wind picked up, so instead of grabbing the cup she was still holding to him, he watched the strands flutter in the wind. Naruto noted that she was actually beautiful when she wasn't in a rage.

"Naruto. Naruto? Naruto! Hello?" Naruto snapped back to reality and realized that the two of them were still standing at a street corner, a cup of ramen between them. Then Soba noticed they were staring at each other. Then Naruto noticed they were staring at each other. Then they stared at each other some more. Soba, horrified at letting her guard down, broke the spell.

"We need to get back and wake the other two."

"Uh, heh, yeah! Thank you for the ramen!" Naruto grabbed the food from her and they walked back in silence.

When they returned to the room, Dai and Kiba were already awake and dressed, and Akamaru was busy playing with a stuffed chew toy.

"We were wondering where you two had gone! I though Soba was going to go bury you somewhere so you'd stop talking!" Kiba looked at Naruto and laughed, but he was only half-joking. He was still scared of Soba because she reminded him of his mother. Dai was desperately trying to suppress a smile so that his sister wouldn't think he wasn't on her side, but he was so delighted to see her looking a little less composed. She tried to distance herself from Naruto and bring herself back to the cool, collected Soba of last night, but it was a little harder now. She cursed that messy blonde for being really hard to dislike; there was something so warm and familiar about him. Naruto was just standing in the doorway, grinning like he had nothing to lose.

"I still need him for recon." Soba pulled her hair up into a bun quickly, tying her forehead protector around it. "I have food, so grab something to eat. We're going to be splitting up several kilometres west of here, so I want to set out our plan for the next few days before we leave, too."

Naruto made his cup of ramen and kneeled down by the table where the others were. Soba was continuing her breakfast with an apple, slightly frustrated that she missed her morning workout in favour of a ridiculous encounter with the blonde sitting by her. Her face settled further into a scowl as they progressed through breakfast; she couldn't let her guard down again.

After they had eaten, Dai spread a map across the table so they could begin strategizing for the days ahead. It took the team very little time to finalize the plan, as Soba had already prepared a strategy. She made sure to pack them some food for the journey, brushing off Dai's 'thanks, mom.' Soon after, they paid the owner of the guesthouse and took off, the rising sun at their backs.

* * *

><p>It didn't take the group very long to travel the few kilometres to their breakout point since they were energized from a good sleep.<p>

"Dai, Kiba," Akamaru interrupted Soba with a bark, "-and Akamaru, you three are going to head southwest from here until you trace the route. When you do, radio in. Naruto and I will be observing Kurosawa Yoru's activities. I want to have him in our custody in four days, maximum, and the major supply line shut down. Above all, be careful, since we don't know anything about the missing-nins Yoru's hired. Anything before we split up?" Soba looked at each member of the team in turn, but they were all shaking their heads. "Let's go!" Dai smiled at his sister, who shoved an extra snack in a pocket of his vest.

"Be safe, imouto!"

"You too, niisan!" Soba nodded at Kiba, who responded in kind.

"We'll see you in a few days!" Naruto said, waving bye to the pair and Akamaru, who had already set off in a run. Soba turned to Naruto.

"Are you ready to go?" He nodded, grinned, and then leapt onto a branch above them.

"It looks like you're not, though!" Naruto let out a bark of a laugh as Soba joined him on a branch. She opened her mouth to say something scathing, but thought better of it. They leaped from branch to sun-dappled branch at a brisk pace, which made the both of them warm up considerably. It didn't help that Soba had her thick green cloak tied around her neck, but there was no room in her satchel because of all the food. She reached back into her pack, pulled out a lollipop and shoved it in her mouth. 'That's a start,' she thought.

* * *

><p>As they moved steadily to their destination, Naruto kept trying to come up with ways to replicate his and Soba's interaction in the morning. He wanted to talk to her for two reasons: one, he was sure he would explode if they were in silence for three days, and two, she seemed like maybe she could be sweet, deep down. People did often tell him he saw the best in others, which sometimes led him to trouble, but it's this same attitude that got his best friend Sasuke back to the Leaf. Soba wasn't quite as <em>complicated <em>as Sasuke, but if he could make him come back, Naruto would make her come around.

An hour later, the blonde was ready to talk someone's ear off because he kept changing his mind about what to say to Soba, and had not said a thing. She, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content just listening to the wind rushing through the forest and the birds chirping. He attempted to turn his head slightly so that he could take a look at her without her noticing. The moment he so much as moved a millimeter from his status quo, Soba looked over, an enormous lollipop puffing out her right cheek. Her facial expression suggested she was expecting him to speak, but Naruto couldn't think of a single thing to say. He drew his lips into a thin line and half-smiled. He was trying to make what he thought was a neutral facial expression, but it ended up looking like he was experiencing constipation that he was vaguely pleased about. One corner of Soba's mouth twitched as she tried to suppress laughter and keep her composure. She waited until Naruto had turned back around before stifling a guffaw. In trying to inhale quickly, her lollipop slipped down her tongue and towards her throat, so her attempted subtlety turned into violent, rasping coughs. She had to stop abruptly on a large branch. It took Naruto a moment before he realized what had happened and he had gotten way ahead of where Soba was stopped. He turned on his heel and bolted back, landing next to her.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She was leaning with arm on the trunk of the tree, bent over and shaking. Naruto put his bandaged right hand on her back gently, bending over to look at her face. She righted herself, and Naruto saw that she was crying and gasping. "What's wrong?!"

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! As before, comments and constructive criticism are appreciated :)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm – I'm – your face, I just couldn't - " She was laughing. The woman was actually having a laughing fit, and here Naruto was, worrying about her well-being.

"You scared me! With the tears and the looking sickly and gah! What's wrong with you?!" He huffed, but was more relieved than anything else. Soba pressed her hands on either side of her face to try and regain her composure.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I choked on my lollipop and then – yeah. We can keep going." She looked away, embarrassed, and took off to escape Naruto's touch on her back. He took off right after her, the image of her laughing face now burned into his memory. Soba was furious with herself for letting this happen _again_. She had worked too hard for years to be this put-together and this respected as a shinobi in her village to let Naruto, a scruffy-haired goofball, tear it all down after a whole 24 hours. Maybe it was just because Kusa nin were very stoic and diplomatic that she never got the opportunity to be around someone so vibrant and infectiously happy, but whatever it was, Soba was worried it was going to affect her performance. A very distracted nin is a very _dead_ nin, and a very dead nin can't protect her teammates.

Naruto wanted to see more of the relaxed Soba, but the next few hours of travel were silent except for barked orders. The two took a brief break where they ate bento boxes in a treetop, but aside from monosyllabic exchanges, Soba didn't say much. Naruto noticed that her brow was more furrowed than before, her features settling into the sharp, unforgiving lines that he saw the first night they met. He was looking at her, trying to make eye contact, but she deliberately focused on her food. Soba could feel him burning a hole in the side of her head, but if she ignored him, he would eventually give up. Everyone did. When they had both finished eating, the kunoichi put away their containers and gestured to Naruto that they were leaving.

Moments before Naruto and Soba were about to arrive at their destination, Dai and Kiba checked in. They had found a large, heavily guarded warehouse that they were going to observe for the next few days to learn guard rotations, delivery patterns, and hopefully anything else that would help them track the path of the drug ring. Soba was relieved to hear Dai's voice; he always anchored her when she got overwhelmed or too tense. This was the first time they had ever split up on a mission, and she noted how much easier her brother was to partner with. Dai didn't ask infuriating questions or try to get her to talk or distract her; after 20 years, he knew better.

"Naruto." The blonde's head perked up when he heard his name.

"Yeah?"

"We need to start suppressing our chakra. I don't want to risk being discovered if Yoru has a sensor-type working for him. With these missing-nins, you can never be too careful. We should be nearing the base soon, and thankfully, the foliage in that area is thick enough that we can set up two vantage points easily. Keep an eye out for any shinobi patrolling. We might want to come back here to sleep tomorrow morning, though." Soba looked up to the sky, and noted the sun directly above their heads.

"Sounds good."

"Are you hungry?"

"I can always eat!" Naruto came over to see what goodies Soba had in her satchel. She handed him a little bag of kaki-peanuts and pulled an apple out of the seemingly bottomless pack. They had a quick snack before moving into enemy territory.

Yoru's base of operations was nearly invisible from far away as it was so deep in the thick of the forest. What they expected to be a large complex was a two-story home right next to a small, nondescript secondary building. She gestured for Naruto to head around to the opposite side and settle in for a long day. Right off the bat, they both noticed two shinobi attempting to look casual at the front gates, their respective forehead protectors showing a slash through the village symbol. Hidden Mist. What was it about that village that caused a disproportionate amount of shinobi to become missing-nins? Aside from the two Mist, there were a few armed guards patrolling the perimeter, dressed in civilian clothes. Soba wasn't entirely comfortable knowing there were automated weapons involved; she was proficient in hand-to-hand combat and the use of her katana, but what good would that do against bullets? Naruto caught sight of the guns, too, and his mind took a similar turn. This complicates things, he thought. Naruto was incredibly fast, ever the Yellow Flash's son, but he had never trained against bullets. Had Kiba? Dai? Probably not. Though both she and Naruto were well hidden in the foliage, she managed to make eye contact with him. His facial expression read the same as hers.

They sat in their respective trees all afternoon, observing the guard cycles changing. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, nor did they see Yoru at any point during their watch. The sun sank low into the horizon, turning the sky the colour of a cooling fire. The intensity of the red bathed the rooftop beneath them in fiery light, but it also greatly increased the glare. Soba couldn't see into the windows no matter how hard she tried. She hoped Naruto was having better luck from his angle, since he had his back turned southward.

"Have you seen him?" Soba whispered into her receiver.

"Nope, not yet." Naruto replied, his eyes focusing on a glint in a lower story window. The glint turned out to be one of Yoru's thugs opening a window to throw out a cigarette. "Damnit. Does this guy never go outside?" The blonde hissed, readjusting his position carefully. Soba scanned the area, thoughtfully snacking on some peanuts.

"I'm not sure he does. I doubt he knows we're here, but let's be prepared for the possibility."

The only things the two shinobi noticed over the next few hours were guard rotations. By this point, both were able to identify every member of the protective detail, but neither had caught a glimpse of the elusive kingpin. Soba was starting to get frustrated, but she wasn't sure whether that was a genuine emotion or just fueled by her exhaustion.

"Soba-chan?" Naruto whispered, but she had caught a glint of blue from the trees opposite her a moment before he spoke. She replied before he even finished.

"Are you ready to call it a night? It looks like they've all buckled down, and all the lights are off." Soba rubbed one bleary eye, suppressing a yawn.

"Yeah, let's go get some sleep. The last double guard left; I don't think we need to be here."

* * *

><p>Naruto and Soba put distance in between them and the home to ensure they would remain undetected. The brunette kneeled on the damp ground by a tall tree and rummaged around in her seemingly bottomless pack.<p>

"What're you looking for?" Naruto, hands in his pockets, bent over double next to her and peered in. Soba said nothing. The blonde looked put out by her stoic silence, but continued in his attempts. After several minutes of rummaging and grumbling, Soba pulled out a soft cylinder of fabric and unfurled it on a relatively flat patch of ground.

"What's that?" Naruto righted himself and poked at what appeared to be nylon.

"It's a tent. I mean, really."

"It doesn't look like a tent!"

"It's because I haven't pitched it yet."

"Hmph."

* * *

><p>Soba was just about to suggest that she take the first watch shift when she heard snoring behind her. Naruto was half inside the tent, half out, his arms sprawled in the grass. The kunoichi chuckled. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping. Grabbing his shoulders, Soba gently pushed Naruto's torso into the tent. The shinobi just kept snoring, his face as relaxed as ever. Soba sat down outside of the tent flap, pulled out the newer of her two katanas out and placed it on her lap. The finely honed blade reflected the cool silver of the moonlight as she inspected every square inch. She repeated the long inspection process with her older katana, treating the blade with such a delicate and loving hand that you would think it was family. Naruto had woken up when he heard a second katana being unsheathed, and was watching, transfixed, as Soba tended to it. She paused, feeling his eyes on her, but for some reason unknown to her, pretended she didn't notice. Warmth spread from her belly to her cheeks, still feeling the burn of Naruto's gaze. He wasn't really being subtle, either; he was absolutely captivated by how she was just a mess of contradictions. The kunoichi sheathed her katana and stretched her lithe body. She took her sweet time in unwrapping her bun, letting her hair cascade over her shoulders. 'He's making a mess out of you,' she thought to herself, 'and here you are, loving it.' Would it really be so bad to get close to someone, for once?<p>

Her thoughts wandered back a few years, right before the war…

* * *

><p>The twins sat on their parents' back porch, two goofy 17 year olds without a care in the world. Despite the late summer heat, the shade was keeping them cool while they lazed about.<p>

"Hey, Soba, why don't you ever say yes when people ask you out?" Dai asked, accidentally smacking her in the face with one awkwardly lanky arm as he reached for his juice. "Oops. Sorry."

"Ow, you twit!" She smacked him back, pulling the back of his shirt over his head.

"Worst. Sister. Ever. This is my favourite shirt and you've stretched it!"

"Boo. Hoo. Get over it."

"I know you're trying to change the subject. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Gahh, you make me crazy. If you can't be honest with the other half of your brain, who can you be honest with?" Dai turned to his sister, face suddenly echoing his concern.

"First, I have a full brain. You're the one missing the part that makes you normal. And smart. And functional. Anyway. Secondly, you know why." Soba avoided eye contact, opting to stare at the intersection of brush and trees far in the distance.

"Soba. Why don't you let yourself be happy?" She made an undignified noise at the question, spluttering out a response.

"I am not _un_happy. I am just single."

"I am not living with you until we're 500. I intend on marrying and having little babies with full brains, unlike their daddy." The gangly Dai frowned at his sister.

"As long as it's not with that bimbo you're dating now."

"_Soba._" He admonished.

"What, nii-san? She doesn't have two brain cells to rub together, and she is a crap shinobi."

"She doesn't have to be a perfect jounin-at-16-sword-and-fire-jutsu-master-human to be worth dating."

"I'm not saying I'm perfect, but at least I could defend my family. She'd probably manage to stab herself with a kunai. Or a fork. Or a blade of grass. Or-"

"_Soba._"

"Stop saying my name, I know what it is. I just want her to deserve you. You're great, and she isn't good enough. Plain as day."

"You're still avoiding my question, but thank you for your flattery. You only think I'm great because you're my twin."

"Yeah, that's probably it."

"You are emotionally undeveloped. Let me help you be less useless at being human."

"None of those guys were worth dating."

"Really? None. What about Mr. Perfect from last year? The man walked out of a storybook. Hell, I would have dated him, he was so great."

"You should've. At least he's a better shinobi than The Bimbo."

"She has a name."

"I'll call her…August."

"We've been dating since May."

"…May, then."

"You're impossible." Dai crossed his arms and stared off into the distance, only noting the sunset in passing. Soba rose to her bare feet and padded towards the entrance. Her hand rested on the doorjamb for a brief moment, hesitating.

"I'm afraid anyone I get close to will die. Like Mom, Dad, Momo-sensei, our real parents…Dai, I can't go to another funeral for someone that I love. I just can't." The door shut behind her.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism is appreciated :)<p>

EDIT: Several people have brought up guns being mentioned, and I just wanted to clarify: though I am mostly ignoring 700, I accept the fact that even Konoha was modernized by the time Naruto is a grown man. Working backwards, I assumed i wouldn't be unheard of for non-shinobi mercenaries to have firearms. Hope that clears it up!


	5. Chapter 5

The corners of her mouth turned down slightly at the memory. Soba had been very careful to guard herself in her teenage years, and she didn't intend to stop in her twenties. Even though mini-nin were taught from an early age that every shinobi's mission could potentially be his or her last, no amount of preparation could ready a child to lose both parents at once. To see them carried back home by their few remaining teammates, bloodied and cold. Dai and Soba were fourteen when their parents were killed in battle with the Akatsuki, both skilled jounin in their own right. A year and a half later, Momo-sensei, their teacher and friend, was also killed while on a mission. The twins mourned the only ways they knew how: Dai by reading, Soba by training. The one major difference between the two afterwards was that Dai recovered emotionally, making friends and continuing on in his life. Soba, on the other hand, vowed to herself that she would never get close to anyone again. The pain of burying people that she had loved so deeply was too much, and she thought that isolation was the only way she could prevent this. Her logic was that of a child, though; she had never considered the crippling loneliness of the life she had chosen.

* * *

><p>"Soba-chan?" Naruto pushed open the tent flap, his face a foot from Soba's. She jumped a little, shocked to hear his voice, even as quiet as it was.<p>

"Hmm?" Both became acutely aware of how close their faces were and looked away.

"You can sleep now. I'll take over." The scruffy blonde clambered out of the tent, holding the flap open for Soba.

"Are you sure? It's only been four hours." She asked, pausing at the entrance. Naruto smiled brightly.

"Of course! It's your turn!" A smile graced her face, unbidden.

* * *

><p>The next day and a half passed in much the same way. All Naruto and Soba saw was guard rotations, and Yoru was nowhere to be found. No deliveries in, nobody leaving the compound. The two were incredibly frustrated with the lack of activity. Soba got in touch with Dai and Kiba at midday on the third day to see if they had had any luck in their reconnaissance. Dai was happy to report that they had cased the entire warehouse and that the two of them shouldn't have any trouble taking down their half. The way that Dai described it, the guards traveled in teams of two, and there were significant gaps in time during which they could isolate pairs, one by one. Due to the fact that they still needed evidence to incriminate Yoru and his goons, they couldn't damage any of the shipments in the warehouse.<p>

As planned, the two teams regrouped as the third day came to a close. Dai, Kiba and Akamaru found Naruto and Soba sitting in a tree, snacking. Akamaru nosed his way in behind Soba when she descended, smelling the treats that she had brought for him. He wagged his long, fluffy tail and tried to look as charming as a dog could. Soba smiled, reaching back into her bag to pull out a cookie.

"Akamaru, you act like I never feed you!" Kiba looked a little offended, staring at his furry friend's back. The cookie safely in his mouth, the dog nuzzled Soba's leg and returned to Kiba's side to chew. "I see you remember whose roof you live under…" A resigned yowl was barely heard over the crunching. "Akamaru?!" Dai started chuckling as Kiba argued with his dog in the background.

"Hey, imouto!" A grin broke out on Soba's face when her brother pulled her into a hug. Dai always smelled like the forest: clean, earthy and familiar. She breathed in his comforting scent after not having seen him for several days. Naruto looked on, ignoring a jealous twinge in his chest. What he wasn't aware of was that he was less jealous of the fact that they each had such a close family member than of the fact that Soba was so relaxed around Dai.

"Has she been driving you crazy, Naruto?" The blonde looked surprised at the question, but recovered quickly, quirking up one eyebrow.

"I think I've managed to tame her!" Kiba, having somehow lost an argument with the fluffiest nin-dog, walked into the tail end of the conversation. He watched Soba round on Naruto, who was grinning from ear to ear.

She growled, "You _tamed_ me?" Dai knew what was coming and he was both amused and terrified. "Like an animal?" Naruto's grin began to fade when he saw her nostrils flaring like that of an angry bull.

"I-uh-" Before he had a chance to explain himself, he was blindsided by a screeching green blur.

"I'LL SHOW YOU TAAAAAAAAAAAME!" Kiba, Dai and Akamaru heard blows landing and saw grass flying, but neither really made a move to help Naruto. Dai jerked forward as though he was going to pull his sister off, but Kiba stopped him with a hand, waving his head no.

"I don't think Naruto's fighting back," Dai commented, "And I'm not entirely sure Soba will leave enough of him intact for the rest of the mission."

"Yeah, but it's kinda funny, ne?" The older twin nodded his assent, his face betraying his amusement. Moments later, Soba extracted herself from the pile that was Naruto, dusting off her cloak. The Uzumaki was lying paralyzed on the grass of the forest, moaning in pain.

"Soba, did you wedgie him?" Dai.

"No."

"_Soba._"

"Yes." Kiba was doubled over laughing, supporting himself using Dai's shoulder.

* * *

><p>Once everyone had calmed down, they began the process of creating a plan. Kiba and Dai's situation was simpler; all they required was some added manpower to help clean up the warehouse. They would be able to defeat all the guards and a pair of missing-nin, but they didn't have the manpower to bring all of them to a civilian prison. Naruto and Soba still needed to ascertain where Yoru was, which was a problem. They decided to do a few more days of reconnaissance before moving in. Kiba and Dai would head off to the capital of the Land of Fire to get a team of police to help drag off the bad guys, and to seize all the drugs in the warehouse. Meanwhile, Soba and Naruto would locate Yoru, capture him, and let the police take care of the transportation. Once the four had set a plan, they split up and disappeared into the night.<p>

Not even twelve hours after they had formulated a secondary plan, Yoru reared his ugly head. He arrived at the house early in the morning, escorted by four guards, and holed himself up on the second floor. Dai and Kiba were on their way back to the warehouse with the police force, which meant that Naruto and Soba had to capture Yoru before he or any of his henchmen caught wind of major police movement. Making a move to infiltrate the home in broad daylight would be imprudent; the two would have to wait until nightfall. Neither of the two could have been described as patient, but they laid in wait, quietly, for the entire day.

* * *

><p>Night finally fell.<p>

"Naruto, you begin with the guards outside, and I'm going to go in the back second story window. I'll clear the inside because I've gotten a better view of the layout and then I'll meet you outside." Soba saw the shaggy hair move as he nodded.

"Be careful!" And Naruto was off. The kunoichi leapt off of her branch once a guard pair had walked by, cloak rippling behind her. Springing off an overhang, she landed soundlessly on a window ledge. The room she was planning to enter was not in use, giving her a distinct advantage. Soba went over her plan in her head and hoped that the gun-wielding guards wouldn't be a problem. Try as she might to ignore it, she was uneasy about firearms. Her fingers slid under the window and gently raised it; an earlier guard had forgotten to lock the mechanism. How amateurish, she thought. She slunk into what appeared to be a sitting room, letting her eyes get adjusted to the darkness. A large, plush couch and several smaller chairs were organized as though they were on a grid, surrounding a solid wood coffee table. As far as she could see, the walls were bare, save a large, ornate mirror hung opposite where Soba was standing. Diagonally to the right of her was a door, light spilling through it and onto the carpeted floor. Soba ducked behind the couch when she heard voices moving towards her. The shadow of two uniformed guards fell in the doorway, and Soba inhaled quietly. Pulling some wooden pellets from her back pocket, she tossed them at a window directly opposite her hiding place. The projectiles connected with the glass, making several less-than-subtle plink sounds. She knew there were four guards with Yoru at any time, and it would be much smarter to take them on in pairs, rather than all of them at once. She aimed to lure the first two into this room, dispatch them and then fight the other two. The pair that was chatting by the doorway stopped their conversation upon hearing the noise and moved to investigate. The kunoichi slunk to the other side of the couch, poised to strike. She watched the two large, heavily muscled guards split up to search the room and counted backwards from five. It was time for her to do what she did best.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Comments and constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated :)<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

5…Soba had two shuriken between the fingers of her left hand, one for each guard. She knew she wouldn't miss, especially because the two guards weren't even shinobi.

4…Both men had their guns ready to fire, but she knew that they wouldn't have time to press the trigger before they were hit.

3…The guard on her left was almost right next to her. He was breathing heavily, his footsteps soft on the plush carpet.

2…A metallic click sounded from both guns.

1…With lightning speed, Soba stood up and threw one shuriken forward, only briefly witnessing it contact the guard before she pivoted right. Her second shuriken struck the other guard, and both men slumped to the ground with a thud. She ducked back behind the sofa to wait for the next two. Her heart rate had picked up; she knew the two other guards would be coming in seconds. Something nagged at her mind as she waited, though; Naruto's chakra wasn't the only one she was feeling. The Hidden Mist shinobi were closer than she anticipated. She heard a soft hiss and looked down at the floor. A shimmering, opaque mist had started to curl around her legs and knees.

_I need to get out of this confined space_, she thought, eyeing the window. The mist had surrounded her in the time it had taken her to finish her thought, and foot collided with her chin. She yelped, flying sideways through the window and shattering the glass. Her face stung, but at least she could now see. Her arm automatically flew to the handle of her katana. Only one of the shinobi had through the window after her, the other one presumably taking Yoru to hide. _Dammit, _Soba scowled, landing hard on the ground, one knee down. In the time it had taken for her to fall, she had unsheathed her blade and now held it tightly in her right hand. The Mist shinobi landed in front of her, a nasty grin across his scarred face. His long hair was silver in the moonlight, tied back with his forehead protector. The black eyes did their best to try and intimidate Soba, but she feared nothing in battle. The worst outcome was death, and what was that but eternal peace? Her eyes were narrowed, looking up at the behemoth of a man before her. He wore a pair of loose pinstriped trousers tucked into his sandals, and Soba got an eyeful of the pattern as he attempted to kick her in the side of the head. She leaned back in time to watch his foot slide past her nose. Soba dropped into a low squat before he had the chance to get back on both feet, and threw her heel into his supporting knee. The shinobi dodged, but a second too late; both heard something crack as her sandal collided with his leg. The man landed, albeit weakly, on both legs, a grimace of pain on his face. Soba liked having the upper hand. She, in fact, often did. A fire ignited within her as she took off towards her opponent, katana gleaming.

* * *

><p>"You know that you make this really scary face whenever you get serious in battle, right?" Dai said, offhandedly, while the two ate in their family's living room.<p>

"You know that your face is always scary?"

"Ha. Ha. But really. You turn feral, or something."

"It's not my fault I get more into it than you do!"

"You know I'd rather be reading than punching people."

"I do, and that is why you're weird. Why did you even bother going through all this shinobi training if you don't even want to punch people on purpose?" Soba tilted her head in her brother's direction, her cheeks full of rice.

"Do you like hurting people?" Dai's bright green eyes looked concerned.

"Not if they don't want to be hurt…" Soba paused, "But I like fighting and I just kinda lapse into full battle mode sometimes. It just kinda happens!"

"You're weird."

"You're weirder." They resumed eating noisily.

* * *

><p>Soba was high in the air when her opponent finished his hand seals, yelling, "Water release…rising water slicer!" A blade of water erupted from him at a high speed, but not high enough. The kunoichi raised her katana above her head and brought the blade down with enough force to split the raging sheet of water in two. The water user barely had a moment to be surprised before she swung her katana back upwards. He flew back, his flak jacket cut cleanly in two. Unsheathing her second katana, Soba landed with one leg on either side of him, blades crossed at his Adam's apple. He gulped, trying to avoid touching the honed steel. The man had given up, obviously not expecting Soba to fight back as hard as she had. The kunoichi withdrew her blades, and in the split second where her opponent thought he could escape, she drove one of the blades home.<p>

"Soba-chan! She saw Naruto running over to her. "I got everyone all tied up!" His eyes widened when he saw the cuts across her face. "Are you okay?"

"Am I dead?" She snapped back, pulling a rag out of her pack.

"No?"

"Then I'm fine. I just went out a window, headfirst. My mistake for letting my guard down." Naruto stared at her, unimpressed, his eyes half-lidded. "The other shinobi went somewhere with Yoru, but I'm confident they're still in the building. I'm also willing to bet that the other shinobi is much stronger; this one here," she gestured at the bound man next to her, "was hardly worth pulling my katanas out for." The kunoichi wiped a bloody katana meticulously.

"Well, the two other patrols are all tied up, so let's go get Yoru!" Naruto gave Soba a thumbs-up and ran ahead of her into the building. They found the second Hidden Mist shinobi on the first floor, muscles coiled, ready for a confrontation. Both Soba and Naruto knew that they needed to get outside of the house or else they would devastate the building; they were given explicit orders to not ruin or damage anything. The opaque mist rose yet again, obscuring their opponent. Naruto and Soba sensed him lunging towards them, so they ran down the hallway and out into the clearing in front of the house. They heard Yoru yelling behind him: "I'll double what I'm paying you if you kill them both!" The mist spilled out into the clearing and the Hidden Mist shinobi leapt out from it, gripping a large curved sword. Soba gave him a wicked grin and brought out her katana. Her blonde teammate glanced over at her, and the corner of his mouth quirked up when he saw the look on her face. Naruto loved a good, healthy battle as much as the next person, but he had never seen someone look as intensely _alive _as Soba did in that moment.

"You think you can take on the Hidden Mist and live, little girl?" The shinobi roared, bringing his massive sword down on Soba. She countered with her katana, and though the slim blade looked like it would break, it held. The kunoichi was sinking into the soft earth under the applied pressure, but it only served to stretch her grin. Every muscle in her body was tense, the neurons firing at miles per minute. She lowered deeper into a squat to see the look of satisfaction on her opponent's face before she fired back, throwing his sword back before lunging towards his open chest. He was easily better than his partner because he dodged her lunge quickly and easily.

"I'm not a little girl." Soba growled, leaping towards him. They exchanged lightning fast blows, the blades whistling through the air. Naruto knew better than to tangle at this point; he stood back to make sure she could handle the man. He was really impressed with Soba's swordsmanship and speed. He knew that she had to be skilled to become a jounin at an early age, but it was something else watching her move. She was strong, but graceful, and Naruto kept catching himself gazing at her lithe body. He tore his gaze away so he could run back into the building and capture Yoru; there was no point in wasting time if Soba had the Mist shinobi handled on her own. Naruto found Yoru trying to escape out the back, but succeeded in capturing the man and tying him up with the rest of his men. He grinned broadly.

"Finally got you! HA!"

"You think that silly girl is going to be able to handle Katsuro? He'll cut her to pieces!" Yoru cackled, and Naruto was absolutely disgusted with the tone. The drug lord had an unpleasant aura with an equally unpleasant face. He had slicked-back, greasy black hair, a bulbous nose and pointed teeth. His beady eyes were cruel and unforgiving, and right now, Naruto was struggling to not punch him right in the face.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, you old, greasy man. You're lucky she wasn't the one that got to you."

"He'll carve her up and then you'll get to pick up the pieces of that hot little tramp." Yoru laughed a disgusting throaty laugh.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL HER, YOU BASTARD?!" The shinobi was losing his self-control, hearing this man talk about his (attractive) teammate like that.

"Oh, is she your girlfriend? You don't like-" The drug lord's chin hit his chest and he was out cold. Naruto smiled smugly at Yoru's unconscious form before running back out front to see what was happening with Soba.

Both shinobi were roughed up and sweaty, but showed no sign of letting up. The kunoichi had command of the battle until she dodged a blow aimed for her left shoulder and got knocked off-balance. The missing-nin took the opportunity to sweep her legs out from under her. Soba's eyes widened as she fell to the ground, watching Katsuro's enormous sword plunging towards her head. At that precise moment is when Naruto ran out of the house.

"SOBA!" Soba was vaguely aware of her name being yelled out, but she had other priorities. Her instincts kicked in, forcing her to roll towards Katsuro's feet to escape her beheading. She slid underneath his legs and scrambled to her feet behind him. The Hidden Mist shinobi didn't miss a beat. He rounded on Soba, and that is when she realized maybe her sword wouldn't be enough. The kunoichi backed up out of the reach of the sinister blade and quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire release…flame chain!" She breathed flames into her cupped hands, and when she drew them apart, a massive chain of fire hung between her palms. Katsuro came in with a predictable swing, so Soba flung out her chain to wrap around the blade. Her opponent's eyes widened when he realized she was using his shift in balance to topple him. Her chain now tight around the sinister sword, the brunette pulled with all her might. Katsuro's sword flew out of his hands and back behind Soba. She released the chain from her left hand and, using it as a whip, wrapped it around his ankles. The kunoichi had regained the upper hand as he opponent toppled to the ground, backwards. Before he had had a chance to hit the ground, Soba lashed her flame chain around his neck and landed on his chest. Katsuro grabbed at the ground, white-knuckled, while she tightened the makeshift noose.

"It looks like the little girl has the upper hand now, ne?" Katsuro stopped squirming and went limp. The flame chain dissolved, leaving Soba panting and sweaty. Her shirt had been slashed in several places, and blood blossomed out of a foot-long cut down her right arm, but she was smiling at Naruto. He smiled back.

"You look terrible!"

"…" Soba wiped stray strands of hair from her forehead and shoved Naruto. "At least I look good all the rest of the time!" The blonde's face fell in response. Soba just giggled.

"So, what now?" He asked.

"We eat." The two flopped against the front porch of the home and shared a snack.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! This was the first time I had ever written anything resembling a battle! Constructive criticism is appreciated :)<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

After the police had cleared up the mess, Dai, Kiba, Akamaru, Soba and Naruto headed back to Konoha to submit their mission report. Technically, Dai and Soba could have gone directly back to the village they called home, but the kunoichi had come up with a halfway convincing reason for dragging her twin all the way back to the Hidden Leaf. Dai knew well enough why she wanted to head back, but he pretended to be oblivious. Naruto's face nearly fell off from smiling when Soba told him they were going back with them, but he, too, tried to act like this was the most logical course of action.

The four of them were a lot friendlier on the way back. Dai and Kiba had apparently become best friends over the past week, and even Soba had warmed up slightly to the Uzumaki. She and Naruto had traveled back side-by-side the whole way, although the blonde had been on the receiving end of some heated words on numerous occasions. Kiba had assumed his fellow Leaf shinobi had said something accidentally offensive, and Dai knew that Soba had probably been slightly offended and largely attracted. Soba flirted like a 10-year-old boy, and he knew this well.

After coming up with a reason to go back to Konoha, Soba concocted yet another 'devious' plan to stay there for several weeks. Her brilliant and completely un-subtle idea was to use the opportunity to hone her skills with different opponents. She was hoping to be able to train with Sasuke Uchiha, as she knew he was a very proficient fire style user. Nobody in the Hidden Grass had ever been able to help her develop her fire jutsu, so she decided to ask an Uchiha to guide her. The only problem was the fact that Sasuke would have to agree to train her first, which would involve both finding _and _speaking with the elusive man. Naruto had turned into a demon to locate his friend and rival, as he was really looking for an excuse for having Soba around for a few weeks.

* * *

><p>"Sasuke." The black-haired shinobi turned to face the voice, his facial expression suggesting boredom.<p>

"Teme?"

"Don't embarrass me in front of her!" Naruto hissed, gesturing to Soba. Sasuke gave the kunoichi a once-over before looking at his friend.

"What do you want?" He demanded quietly.

"Soba-chan want-" Naruto began, but Soba took over.

"I'm a shinobi from the Hidden Grass, but I am a fire style user. Nobody in my village was ever really able to teach me how to properly use my skills, so I created some jutsus and got by with those. I would really appreciate it if you could train me, even for a day, because I want to achieve my full potential as a shinobi." She bowed slightly in Sasuke's direction. He arched an eyebrow.

"Sure. We start the day after tomorrow, training field 8, 7 am." With that, he walked off.

"Thank you." Soba was ecstatic on the inside, but managed to keep calm and collected on the outside.

"What an idiot. Doesn't say bye or anything." The blonde shook his head. He was really expecting to have to goad Sasuke into it, yell at him, or maybe beat him into submission, but sadly, Naruto was left without any way to impress Soba. Though realistically, Soba would have been more amused than impressed if the two friends would have gotten into a fistfight over training her. Naruto still couldn't get over how easily Sasuke agreed to it.

"I like that he doesn't feel the need to talk a lot." Soba mentioned in passing as the two walked down the street, and the blonde raged with jealousy.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, after Dai and Kiba had gone out to do who-knows-what in town, Soba and Naruto were sitting in Ichiraku, waiting on their meal.<p>

"Soba-chan?" The brunette turned her head to look at her dinner date. His eyes always looked so innocent and kind, and that just wouldn't do. Soba felt all her senses flying away when he looked at her.

"Mm?"

"I'm glad you're staying for a little while." She saw what appeared to be a faint blush cross the man's cheeks, but she could have been mistaken.

"Well, it'd be silly to turn down such a great learning opportunity." What inner Soba wanted to say was _so am I, Naruto_, but she just couldn't make herself do it.

Dai and Kiba were likely going to be up all night engaging in sake-fueled shenanigans, so when Naruto asked Soba if she wanted to go for a walk with him, she said yes. She was actually surprised that she managed to agree instead of running for the hills; maybe she was finally starting to relax. What was it about this man that broke her down so much? The two wandered around Konoha, eventually finding their way to the Hokage monument. Naruto hopped up onto the carved head of Tsunade-sama, plopping down, cross-legged. Soba sat down right next to him, legs stretched out in front of her.

"Granny Tsunade's head is the easiest to sit on of all the Hokage," Naruto offered. "But she's also by far the angriest. She yelled at me a lot…Kakashi-sensei doesn't. Well, he doesn't really yell. He just makes that face." Naruto looked over at Soba, who was gazing at him, smiling.

"I feel like they only do that because they care about you."

"I guess they do!" He flashed her a grin and Soba melted. She dragged her eyes away from him and looked over the town. The sky above them was an inky black, but the lights in the buildings beneath them glowed warmly. Soba watched couples walking together in the center of town, holding hands. Her stomach bunched up in knots just thinking about possibly, maybe, perhaps trying to pursue a relationship. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. Naruto was looking over at her, bright-eyed and at a loss for what to say. It's not often that the blonde was rendered speechless, but every word that he wanted to pull out of the air flew out of his grasp when he was looking at Soba.

"I knew you were nice, deep down!" Soba turned her head to face him.

"Was I not nice before?"

"…uhhhh." Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head. "You were a little…um-"

"Okay, I guess I was a little mean."

"A little?" He looked like he regretted that the moment it had come out of his mouth. "I MEANT-" His face relaxed when he saw her smiling at him.

"I know. Dai's told me that I'm as pleasant as a kidney stone sometimes. I just get really intense when I'm working because it's really important to me to do things right. I hate disappointing our elders and I hate disappointing myself."

"I don't think you're the type to ever disappoint anyone. I don't know how you could! Your family must be so proud of you." Soba scoffed at the comment.

"I know you're trying to butter me up now."

"I'm not." He looked into her eyes and she felt heat rising to her face.

"Anyway. It's a lot easier to do my best work when I have no distractions, and I guess that's why I'm abrasive. I keep people at a safe distance. I only work well with Dai because he's like an extension of me, and I don't really need to evaluate our relationship. Also, he's the only family I have, so there's that." Naruto looked saddened.

"Isn't it lonelier like that, though? If your family's gone…"

"Hm."

"See, I don't really think that's the right way to do it."

"Oh, really?" Soba screwed up her face.

"I think friendship is so important. I wouldn't be where I am today without my friends…when I was little, all I wanted, more than anything else, was to be wanted. For someone to notice and acknowledge me, you know?" Naruto was looking down at his feet and playing with a loose thread on his pants. "And when it finally happened, it was the absolute best thing in the world. I had no parents, but I had someone to keep me going. Now this," He gestured to the village, "is my family."

Soba was silent, not really knowing what to say. She felt the slow burn of his presence by her, but could bring herself to do anything. She knew so much about him, like his fighting style, major battles, even his age, but she realized that she didn't know _him _at all.

"I used to be _so _angry all the time, just angry at everything and everyone around me, and I think that's why I really felt drawn to you. I feel like you're like I used to be and you could be so much happier with-"

Soba snapped back at him, "Did I ever say I was unhappy? I'm sorry, but you're making a lot of assumptions about me!" Naruto looked taken aback, but more afraid of the fact that he may have offended her. Her brow furrowed and she looked away from him.

"I didn't mean-" He looked really crestfallen. A deep silence fell over the two as they stared out over the rooftops. Soba made to stand up and had hardly gotten to her feet when Naruto grabbed her wrist. He was gentle, but it had startled her regardless. "Please don't go."

He looked so genuinely sorry that Soba just sat right back down, letting him hold her wrist a little longer. At the same time, Naruto thought that he would push his luck and see how long he could get away with keeping his hand looped around her thin wrist. Soba noted that his hands were surprisingly soft, albeit sweaty. They were now back to sitting right next to each other, only now they were staring awkwardly away from each other, neither one wanting to acknowledge the tension between them. The silence was long, but not entirely uncomfortable.

"I-" Soba began.

"So-" Naruto opened his mouth to start but shut it right back when he realized he she had started talking.

"Oh no, you go ahead!"

"No, it's okay!" The brunette started laughing at the awkwardness, and was soon joined by Naruto. Their laughter rang out in the darkness, and before long, they were inexplicably in hysterics. Soba was the first to start calming down, taking deep breaths to slow the tears of mirth running down her face. Both blushed an aggressive shade of red when Naruto looked at her wrist and realized his hand was still there. He snatched it away quickly and offered a self-deprecating smile in exchange. Soba fought to suppress a flutter in her chest.

"It feels really late, but I don't want to call it a night yet – want to go get a drink?" Naruto nodded fervently in response.

"I've got some at my apartment, or we could go find Kiba and Dai?"

"I wouldn't have pegged you as the type to have booze at your apartment."

"It's only sake that I got as a birthday gift, but I've been waiting for a special occasion to drink it. To be honest, I forget it's there!" Another smile from the blonde.

"I think taking down a drug ring counts as a special occasion, and to be honest, I can't handle Dai after he's been drinking. Love him to death, but he becomes Captain Personality after a few glasses. He also usually tries to find me men, which is awkward at best." Naruto started laughing at the mental image and Soba shook her head. "His heart's in the right place, but…yeah." She chuckled and got to her feet.

* * *

><p>"KIBA!" Dai bellowed, his decibel level completely inappropriate for the distance between him and the man he was calling out to. Kiba shoved him, rubbing his ears.<p>

"OW, Dai! I'm right here! What?!" Dai threw out an arm, pointing in the direction of the crescent moon. "That's the moon."

"I know it's the moon, Kiba. Look below the moon, on the monument." Kiba squinted.

"Where on the monument?"

"The lady-hic-lady's face!" Kiba squinted more, now directly at Tsunade's head.

"There are people on it?"

"NOT JUST ANY PEOPLE!"

"How do you know who it is?!" Kiba jabbed an accusing finger into Dai's chest and paused. "Since when are you so muscular?" He continued poking the taller man. Dai swatted him away.

"You're missing the point. That-" He pointed again. "-is obviously my wonderful sister AND the glorious Uzumaki Naruto."

"Again, how do you know?"

"I just do. Soba likes weird places that are up high and kinda creepy, but she is also my twin."

"Waitwaitwait, they're going somewhere. DAI, I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU'RE RIGHT. What if you're wrong?"

"Then we're going to be stalking two random people. OKAY, KIBA. FETCH YOUR DOG, WE'RE GOING HUNTING!"

"And if you're right?"

"We find Soba and HOPEFULLY, she will have remembered that she is a woman and Naruto is a man."

"Uh."

"LISTEN. WHEN YOUR SISTER IS THE WORLD'S ANGRIEST HUMAN, YOU WANT HER TO BE HAPPY AND OBVIOUSLY, SHE HAS BEEN FLIRTING OVER THE PAST WEEK. SO."

"Your sister scares me."

"That makes you a member of an exclusive club which boasts 99.999% of the world as members. Okay, let's go stalk them!"

"This is a terrible idea."

"No, it's not."

"It really is."

"You're still coming with me."

"Hell yes, I am."

The two stumbled off.

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading! Comments &amp; constructive criticism are appreciated :)<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

"Naruto, do you feel like we're being followed?" Soba paused when they had landed on the roof above his apartment.

"I do, but maybe it's just because we're in mission mode still."

"Maybe you're right…"

Soba could not have been less prepared for the sight that awaited her when Naruto opened the door. She had suspected that the man was messy, but not where-is-the-floor, what-color-should-the-counter-actually-be messy. Her horror had obviously been painfully evident on her face because Naruto stopped midway in, unceremoniously pushed her out of the apartment, mumbled _wait_ and closed the door. Soba stood frozen, her nose a centimeter from the wood, and listened to multi-toned thuds and shuffling from the other side. About ten minutes later, the door swung open to reveal a slightly less disastrous apartment. It was small, but then again, he was only one person. Her steps on the wooden floor echoed as she walked into the main hallway. Naruto disappeared momentarily and reentered the room holding a bottle and two cups, a sly grin creeping up his face. Soba left her sandals by the door and padded over to the couch, grabbing a cup from Naruto's outstretched hand. She took a look around at the sparsely decorated home. The only things that she could see that spoke to the man's personality were the not-so-stealthily hidden clothes piles.

"By way of warning, I've told you that Dai is a ridiculous drunk, but um, we're twins. Please don't let me make any poor decisions after you pour the sake in my cup. Naruto, I don't like that smile. I'm serious! Don't let me have too much!" The kunoichi delicately sat down onto his makeshift couch and extended out her arm. "With that said, sake please." Naruto had a devilish grin spreading his face, and Soba was a little scared of where this night could go if she let it. Naruto may actually strain a facial muscle or two...

* * *

><p>Outside of the apartment, two barely-coherent 21–year-old men and a confused white dog were vying for a good position in some bushes.<p>

"Dai, your butt is enormous. Move." Kiba shoved his friend sideways so that he could be more hidden. Akamaru was walking between the two fighting man-children, trying to figure out what they were doing. He eventually gave up and sat down, cocking his head to the side. "Akamaru, please hide. You stick out like a sore thumb!" When the three were happily hidden, they settled in for some expert stalking.

"Now we wait." Dai brought his fingertips together, pleased with his plan.

"How are we going to see anything?"

"With our eyes, Kiba. How dumb did the sake make you?"

"Well, _Dai_, Naruto's apartment is on the TOP floor and we are in a bush. On the ground."

"I see."

"Except you really don't." Kiba gave the other man a conspiratorial glance and they both burst into hysterical laughter. Akamaru barked to remind them that they were supposed to be stealthy. Their giggles had only just subsided when Kiba grabbed Dai's shoulder urgently. "We should _climb_ up and look in the window that way!" Soba's inebriated twin brother's eyes and mouth widened with delight.

"Yes. YES. Akamaru, you stand guard down here in case anyone comes by." The dog barked his assent and the half-baked plan was in action.

* * *

><p>The fact that the two ridiculous fiends outside were scaling the side of the building did absolutely nothing for either Naruto or Soba at this point. They were both more than a few cups of sake in, and there was a thick fog separating them from sobriety. Both shinobi had their feet up on the beat-up coffee table, their bodies all but consumed by the blankets on the couch.<p>

"It's really warm in here. Reeeeeally warm. Are you warm?" Soba looked over at Naruto, who had already taken off his jacket. He nodded slowly, all his movements slowed down like he was in molasses. She fidgeted with the knot on her top for more time than she would have cared to admit, then shrugged it off and folded it over the side of the sofa. Her tank top had ridden up around her waist, so she pulled it down quickly, embarrassed. "Ughhh, can we open up a window?"

"Yeah, sure!" Naruto extracted himself from the comfortable mess of the couch and walked over to a window that had a suspicious amount of brown hair sticking out from the bottom of it. He paused to look behind him and caught Soba re-folding her top. His eyes traced her slowly, lingering at the scarring on her collarbone and neck, then the curve of her chest, and pulling his gaze away when he saw her shirt ride up again. _It just got a whole lot hotter in here_, he thought, reaching out to the window latch.

* * *

><p>"He's coming over. He's coming!" Dai was panicking because he and Kiba were hanging off of the windowsill that Naruto was walking over to.<p>

"Where can we go?!" They began shuffling sideways to the neighbor's ledge to escape being seen. Had Naruto had the presence of mind to look out the window and to the left, he would have seen two grown men dangling from a ledge, faces frozen in horror and forehead protectors horribly askew. However, he saw no such thing. He also did not hear two very loud thuds that followed shortly thereafter, and neither did Soba. It was a general non-event for those in the apartment, but a world of pain for the parties involved in the fall.

In the two minutes the blonde had taken to open the kitchen window, the kunoichi on his couch had fallen asleep. Naruto couldn't blame her; he was feeling pretty tired, too. He gently lifted her legs onto the couch and took a moment to just drink in the sight of the world's most confusing woman. Soba was fully relaxed, with her lips parted and long hair fanned out everywhere. Her right hand was gripping her forehead protector tightly, and the left one was flopped onto the floor, reaching for something that wasn't there. The fabric of her undershirt had ridden up again, revealing her toned stomach, and Naruto tried valiantly to ignore the soft skin begging to be touched. To prevent any unnecessarily creepy staring from his end, he quickly covered her with a blanket, turned off the lights and went to bed. In the brief moments before he fell asleep, Soba was all that he thought about; the woman had found her way under his skin and didn't seem like she would be leaving anytime soon.

* * *

><p>"Your grip strength is terrible." Kiba chastised Dai from the other side of the bush below Naruto's window. "And they? He? Someone? Just turned out the light. Sexy intentions? We will NEVER KNOW because someone doesn't work out regularly."<p>

The first light of dawn was rising like a mist on the horizon, and the stars were beginning to fade. Dai watched the scene from his back, wondering why on Earth he and Kiba were still lying in the bush.

"Yours is worse. You slipped-" The Grass shinobi yawned loudly, "-first." He had barely finished his sentence before he dozed off. Kiba and Akamaru were already snoring softly somewhere else in the dense foliage.

* * *

><p>The sun had almost hit its apex in the sky before Soba had gotten up. She opened her eyes slowly, but then shot up upon realizing she had no idea where she was. A very half-naked Naruto then padded into the living room, yawning. He didn't seem to realize or remember that Soba had gone to sleep on his couch. She jumped up, averting her eyes from the hipbones to which the cotton boxers barely clung, and cleared her throat loudly.<p>

"SOBA! Ahhh, I…hang over…pants?" The blonde tried to cover himself up with his hands, but seemed too uncoordinated to take the next steps towards getting dressed. His eyes were bleary and unfocused, his brow knotted in pain. The brunette standing opposite him didn't seem to be getting along much better, gauging by her vacant-yet-aroused expression. Soba tried her very best to stare at the ceiling, out the window, at the table, or any location that didn't belong to Naruto's lithe frame. She did peek, though, when she thought he wouldn't notice. He did, though. He really did, and the corner of his lips turned up, ever so slightly. Neither of them moved for five minutes afterward because they weren't entirely sure how to exist just yet.

"Shower?" She muttered.

"Shower," was the response.

"Ramen?"

"Ramen," was echoed back, and one muscular arm extended to point to the bathroom.

After they had both showered and changed, with Soba borrowing a less dirty shirt from Naruto's pre-pubescent shirt pile, Naruto led the way to breakfast. While they descended the stairs to the ground floor, they kept hearing odd groans and barks from just around the corner. Not to be deterred from food, they chalked it up to weird people, and kept walking. The smell of Ichiraku was within reach when Soba and Naruto ran into what can only be described as a large green and orange crayon with a bowl cut.

"Good morning, Naruto! Who is this youthful lady with you?" He was much too cheery and much too awake for Team Hangover, who had not spoken on their entire walk for lack of cerebral activity.

"Good morning, Guy-sensei." The blonde pointed in his companion's general direction, "Soba. She's from Hidden Grass. Did mission with her. Having breakfast." Soba nodded with as much gusto as she could manage at that moment.

"Oh-HO! It would seem that Naruto has a lovely lady friend. Ah, the follies of youth. You must have been _busy_ yesterday to be so tired! Ho! What a springtime of your lives it is INDEED!" Soba tried (and failed) to comprehend the apparition in front of her, so that left only Naruto to be horrified at the statement.

"Oh, no, we just, sake. Visiting, you know. Stuff." Waving his arms in a noncommittal way, Naruto walked off. "Bye, Guy-sensei."

"Do not squander your youth, Naruto!" Guy-sensei's wink and thumbs-up pose nearly overwhelmed Soba enough to make her keel over. Recovering, she and Naruto finally stepped into Ichiraku only to find the Rokudaime and his aide, Iruka, seated inside. The blonde screamed inwardly. Soba's eyes shot open because she became painfully aware that she was about to be in the presence of the Hokage while too hung over to function as a human being. She, too, screamed internally with the added realization that she was _wearing Naruto's shirt._

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><p>Thanks for reading! Comments &amp; constructive criticism are appreciated :)<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

So, the two were standing, smiling blandly at Naruto's former teachers while trying not to burst blood vessels in their respective foreheads.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," Soba's addled brain managed to tip her torso into a bow.

"'Morning, Kakashi-sensei. Iruka-sensei. Soba, Iruka-sensei. Iruka-sensei, Soba." Soba bowed again, feeling a pang of nausea that time.

"Naruto, it's one in the afternoon. Did you just wake up?" Naruto nodded weakly at Kakashi, and at that moment, both of his mentors simultaneously noticed the Uzumaki swirl on Soba's shirt. Two pairs of eyebrows rose in tandem, with great speed and lechery. "Maa, Iruka and I will buy you whatever you call this meal!"

"Breakfast," mumbled Soba, plopping down on a stool next to Iruka, who seemed really amused by her. She ordered her meal by pointing at words on a chalkboard and put her head down after the ordeal. Naruto did the same, only seated on the other side of Kakashi.

"Since neither seems to be functioning, I'll explain. Soba and her brother Dai were the two Grass shinobi on the opiate ring mission." Kakashi spoke to Iruka while Naruto and Soba inhaled their meals to avoid having to speak words.

"Ah, you're the kunoichi I've heard so much about! It looks like our Naruto managed to break you in a week, ne?" Iruka was a tan, friendly-looking shinobi with a horizontal scar across his nose. He gave Soba a warm smile that she couldn't help but reciprocate. The bowl of ramen had revitalized her somewhat, so she felt confident in her ability to control her facial muscles. Naruto and Soba were sitting with the two senior shinobi between them, so the blonde had to strain to hear what Iruka was saying to the kunoichi.

"I think it was the other way around!" Soba quipped, sending Naruto a playful glance. Kakashi and Iruka laughed heartily at their pupil's expense. The latter was scowling with his mouth full.

"Is this your first hangover, Naruto? You look terrible!" Naruto's scowl deepened.

"That obvious?" Kakashi and Iruka nodded in earnest.

"You forget that we were young once, too!" Kakashi's only visible eye revealed a mischievous glint.

"Kakashi, you were both old _and_ hung over this morning." Iruka muttered, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Don't be all patronizing when you're no better than they are." The Hokage slumped in his seat, chastised by the Academy instructor.

"Aaaalways undermining my authority, Iruka. How will I ever get respect from the young shinobi with you here to keep me honest? Maa, I should fire you." The man he was addressing shook his head, smiling.

"First of all, you don't have it in you to fire me. Secondly, you think that paperwork you do is in any way respectable? Who do you think has to redo it so that it's legible?" Kakashi scratched the back of his head, waving his other hand at Iruka to quiet him. Soba was suppressing laughter to be polite, but she found it both entertaining and bizarre that their village's strongest shinobi and his aide were so casual and open. Her village elders were very proper and somber at the best of times, pontificating at worst. She saw Naruto chuckling out of the corner of her eye and it seemed like this was a regular occurrence. Iruka and Kakashi continued squabbling like an old married couple until Naruto faux-sweetly reminded them that they were paying for his bill. Soba, on the other hand, pulled out some money from the pocket of her pants to cover her meal. Iruka waved her hand away.

"Don't worry about it!"

"Iruka-san, I can't possibly-"

"Consider it a thank you for taking Naruto out for some fun. He's been a little lethargic over the past month, and I'm glad he got out to spend some quality time with a nice human being." Soba opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, trying to come up with an appropriate response.

"Hai. It was as much for my benefit as his. It's nice to relax a little bit!" Nervous, Soba swept all of her hair up in her hand and let it drape over her right shoulder. The older man's face lit up with another smile, and he turned to address his former pupil. Loudly enough for Kakashi and Soba to hear, Iruka chastised Naruto, hands on his hips: "If you're going to have a girl," He cleared his throat, "..._sleep over_, give her a less obviously Uzumaki shirt, Naruto. You know how the village talks. I hope that you two were, ahem, careful." The blonde's eyebrows disappeared in his scruffy hair, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He stammered, nearly weeping from mortification when Kakashi encouraged him to borrow a copy of Icha Icha if he needed it for _ideas_. Puzzled and mildly horrified, Soba was dragged out of the shop by a beet-red Naruto.

"Soooba-chan, they both think we, _you know_, last night." He tilted his head suggestively halfway through the sentence. Soba missed the point in a spectacular way.

"We did drink a lot, but-"

"No. I mean, they think you _slept over_ but without the _sleeping_." The blonde's voice had dropped to nearly inaudible levels, and after some straining, Soba understood what he had meant. She stared at Naruto, dumbstruck, once her brain had finally latched onto the concept of 'undertones.'

"That's bad. I mean, not for you! They know you! I'm just a kunoichi from a different village, and now they're going to think I'm some irresponsible, boozehound of a tramp who can't control herself around attractive men! This is awful!"

"Did you just call me attractive?" Naruto couldn't help the colossal grin threatening to tear his cheeks.

"Of that whole tirade, that is the only thing you latch onto?" She desperately tried to mask her slipup beneath a cool facade. Needless to say, it wasn't her most successful attempt.

"And you're not a tramp. That's an awful thing to call yourself." He now had his brow knotted together, blue eyes looking down into green. Soba shrugged noncommittally, toying with a loose strand of her hair.

"Naruto, what was Hokage-sama talking about? Icha Icha?" Naruto turned an exceptional shade of puce.

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><p>The two returned to Naruto's apartment building, narrowly avoiding running into everybody the blonde knew. As they took their first steps up the stairs, both looked over to see two very familiar faces partially obscured by a decorative shrub. A fluffy white tail wagged nearby.<p>

"Matsui Dai. I will MURDER you in your sleep." The kunoichi's twin bolted to consciousness when he heard the homicidal tone only associated with his dear sister's rage. There was only ever one reason for her to use his full name, and it usually ended in pain.

"My hangover will do that for me, imouto." Dai muttered, rubbing his throbbing temples. He didn't even look shocked when Kiba popped up beside him without warning. Both bush-dwellers looked up at the quietly seething Soba and the bewildered Naruto behind her.

"Murder. It will come to you slowly, then ALL AT ONCE." The blonde standing behind the kunoichi could have sworn that she was about to erupt into flames.

"Can I at least explain myself?"

"Do try." Her voice dripped venom. Before Dai had a chance to even begin the delicate process of begging for forgiveness, Kiba interjected.

"We had a lot of sake, and then we saw the two of you and Dai decided we should stalk you. We ended up in this bush." Dai rounded on the man sitting to his left, attempting to stab him with his eyeballs. Kiba muttered something that sounded like _every man for himself _and _she likely won't kill you since you're related._ Soba's eyes migrated from the tattooed man to the sibling who had moments to live.

"Kiba kinda oversimplified it, see. We actually wanted to make sure that you got home safely after your romp on the monument-"

"ROMP?! YOU FOLLOWED US FROM THEN? HOW DID YOU EVEN KNOW TO LOOK THERE?!" In a poof, Dai disappeared, and Soba watched Kiba's retreating back round a corner. "My retribution will be swift and deadly." The kunoichi marched up the remaining steps to Naruto's apartment, the now-mute blonde following closely behind.

"Uhhh..."

"Don't worry, I'm just going to embarrass him in the worst way possible when he least expects it. There's a reason why he fears my wrath."

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><p>Soba was back in her and Dai's temporary living quarters later in the afternoon, now in her own clothing and environment. Given that she had missed her early morning workout due to a relentless hangover worse than any she had ever experienced, she took the opportunity to catch up on her training before dinner. Not like she'd be able to eat dinner anyway with the state her stomach was in. She made a mental note to avoid sake for the next eternity. At around 5 pm, the kunoichi heard a delicate creaking from the front entry and took the opportunity to begin her slow, systemic torture of her "older" brother. Soba strolled into the kitchen opposite the front entry languidly and silently, leaning on the counter while Dai attempted to be stealthy. For a shinobi, he was a mess at sneaking around. His shock of chocolate brown hair emerged from behind the door first, followed by his forehead protector, and then eyebrows. Right before his eyes were scheduled to make their appearance, Soba spoke.<p>

"Why hello, niisan." She kept her tone as ambiguous as possible for reasons that Dai was all too aware of. Her twin popped out from behind the door, feigning a casual attitude.

"Oh, hey, Soba! Fancy seeing you here!" As predicted, Dai was doing a terrible job masking his fear. His sister, on the other hand, was just reveling in the discomfort she was causing him. _That'll teach you to stalk me, you creeper, _she thought, grabbing a cup of tea that she had left on the counter earlier. Bringing it to her lips and trying to avoid a facade-breaking cackle, Soba maintained relentless eye contact with the man opposite her. Dai could only gulp in response.

"Did you have fun with Kiba?" Any other person would have dismissed the innocuous-sounding question, but Dai felt like he was being slapped by the threatening undertones.

"COULD YOU JUST GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY?!" The taller twin yelled, unfastening his jacket.

"Get _what_ over with? I just want to know what my favorite-"

"Only."

"-Brother got up to last night!" Soba only batted her eyelashes in a way that suggested murder. How someone managed to look homicidal while batting their eyelashes was beyond Dai, but here was the prime example before him. Another casual sip of tea. Placing the teacup down on the counter, Soba walked over to the couch and patted it. "Details, please!" Hesitant, Dai walked over and sat down, wary of what was to come. His sister dropped the act.

"I'll get you back later. Now. How many people did you offend? Did any women slap you? Did any women slap Kiba? Was poor Akamaru scarred for life? I have so many questions!" Knees up to her chest, the kunoichi turned towards Dai, looking expectant. Post-shenanigan debriefs were a common occurrence in the Matsui household, even though they usually went out together. Reassembling their nights fast became a tradition after the two became old enough to drink.

"Excuse you, but don't you think that I should get your side of the evening first? Seeing as how you were the one _sleeping over_ at a _boy's_ home?" Dai inclined his head and wiggled his thick eyebrows. Soba could do nothing to hide the flushing of her cheeks. "HA! I don't want any gory details because ew, but a blurb would satisfy my curiosity. Then I'll tell you about each of the four women that ended up slapping Kiba. I promise it's an outstanding story."

"First of all, to completely clear up any suggestion of impropriety in your depraved mind, we actually just hung out all night, drank sake and the reason why I slept over was because I fell asleep on his couch. And he is a man, not a boy. Just to be clear." Dai snorted.

"I'm finding this hard to believe, so now explain the shirt."

"Again, perfectly logical explanation. We both showered-" Dai's eyebrows nearly collided with the ceiling. "-SEPARATELY and I didn't want to put on my gross mission shirt after. Come on, Dai, seriously, wipe that look off your face." Dai did no such thing. "Stooooop it, it wasn't like that, niisan!" Soba cuffed him on the shoulder.

"Fine. I'll take your word for it, oh great burster of bubbles."

"Shut up. Now, Kiba-slapping. I want to hear all about it."

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><p>Thanks for reading! As always, constructive criticism is appreciated :)<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: This is a beast of a chapter! Hope y'all enjoy!

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><p>Naruto was walking to the grocery store later in the afternoon to restock his tragically empty pantry when he happened to run into Iruka and Kakashi. Again. Even for someone as blissfully ignorant as he, it was bizarre to find his village's Hokage out and about so often when there was likely work to be done. It was a Saturday, but leading a village wasn't exactly a standard 9-5. His two former teachers sandwiched him.<p>

"So." The silver-haired man leaned on his shoulder. "How's your lady doing?" What _was _it with Kakashi and the lecherous eyebrow wiggle? He had it down to an art, which really distressed Naruto. Iruka was casually looking away, but the blonde could tell his ears were trained on hearing his student's response.

"Don't the two of you have work to do, like running the village?" Naruto felt like he was melting away under Kakashi's unwavering gaze. Who knows what would be happening if his former sensei had both eyes available for questioning.

"Maa, Naruto, you act like I am some irresponsible Hokage, stalking around my former student to see if he is indeed seeing a lovely, tall jounin from the Hidden Grass, instead of running my own village." Naruto stopped dead in the street and looked his sensei in the eye. Despite the mask covering his face, the blonde could tell Kakashi was smiling from ear to ear. Naruto pivoted to look pleadingly at the supposedly more grounded and reasonable of his former teachers. Iruka just shrugged noncommittally.

"Aren't you supposed to make sure he's doing his job?" Naruto asked, his voice raising a little above normal conversational tones.

"Technically, no..." Iruka avoided eye contact.

"So, does that mean you're also abandoning your job to stalk me?"

"Naruto, no. See, Kakashi-sensei and I were just taking a break from work, as it was very taxing to do that much paperwork on such a wonderful Saturday, and we happened to run into you. Given the opportunity, we have decided to ask you a few questions, as concerned and curious almost-family."

"And what was that at Ichiraku earlier? Another break?" The blonde crossed his arms and looked Iruka in the eye as menacingly as his headache would allow. The latter was still getting used to Naruto being his height, and was very slowly coming to terms with the fact that he couldn't loom over him to assert his teacherly rights.

"It appears that our student doesn't wish to have anything to do with us anymore now that he is so popular. Ah, Iruka, we have been discarded." Kakashi put the back of his gloved hand against his forehead dramatically. "I must retire to my office and lament my youth." Iruka looked over at the Copy-nin.

"You're absolutely ridiculous." Kakashi ignored his friend.

"Ah well! Goodbye, Naruto. Perhaps one day you will want to share details about your life with us, the people who have always been there to throw kunai at you..." Kakashi mock-wailed, and disappeared in a poof of smoke. Iruka rolled his eyes as loudly as he could muster. Naruto stood in the middle of the road, puzzled, trying to get any sort of explanation from Iruka, who was standing by him.

"I'm as confused as you are. Too much time with Guy-sensei, I suspect. Though, really, if you ever want to talk, you know I'm around. Kakashi will be too, whether you like it or not, in a more creepy way. You know how he is. Either way. We just want to see you happy!" Iruka placed a hand on his pupil's shoulder, smiled warmly, and walked off towards the Hokage tower. The young man was absolutely bewildered by the exchange he had just been a part of, and walked the rest of the way to the grocery store in a confused stupor.

"Why are they so interested in my love life and nobody else's? Bet they don't follow Sasuke and Sakura around like this..." The blonde muttered, grabbing the door handle belonging to his neighborhood store. A silver shock of hair popped out from behind a building.

"We stopped because Sasuke pretty much exclusively has one-night stands, and Sakura is all about 24/7 pining over Sasuke. It got old, and quickly. You're more interesting!" Another poof of smoke followed by a hissed "Kakashiii!" from Iruka, Naruto supposed. The blonde made a mental note to never go out or speak, ever again.

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><p>The rest of that day passed uneventfully, and 6:00 on the dot the next morning, Soba awoke. She was due to meet Sasuke for training at 7, so she began her morning ritual. Dai opened a bleary eye at 6:40, when she opened the door to leave, but fell back asleep soon after. He didn't have the stomach she did for early mornings.<p>

The kunoichi arrived fifteen minutes early, as was her custom, and sat in the middle of the training field, mapping out the territory. Her katanas were fastened snugly to her back since she had decided not to wear her cloak; it was only going to make her sweatier. Soba glanced around at the trees and brush a few hundred feet from her and vaguely wondered whether Sasuke was punctual or the type to stroll in casually fifteen minutes after an agreed-upon time. She heard an uncharacteristic shift in the trees due south of her, so she instinctively pulled out her katana to counter. As she pivoted on her right heel and ground in with her left, her blade contacted loudly with another which happened to be connected to the black-haired Uchiha. Their eyes met and both smirked. Soba would soon learn that his praise, if present, lay in subtle facial expressions, but she hadn't come here for affirmation or a pat on the back. She came here to train. Sasuke came at her mercilessly on the offensive, but Soba was more than quick enough to counter all of his blows. He thrust the blade towards her abdomen, and, taking advantage of his open stance, the kunoichi brought her elbow down hard on his upper back. The man hit the ground with a thud. Brushing the dirt off of his black clothes, Sasuke got to his feet.

"Hn. Guess I might have to take you seriously as a swordsman, then." Soba chuckled at his statement, sheathing her blade.

"What, did you think I was going to be some pushover? If you take me on with a blade, you best be careful." Sasuke's face showed a minute expression of surprise that Soba would take a few days to recognize as such.

"I was just curious." The bored voice betrayed no emotion, and neither did the deep black eyes. Soba found it very hard to read the man, but figured she would get the hang of it in time.

"Before we do anything else, why did you agree to train me?"

"Again, curiosity. Nothing else."

"Given the kind of background I've been given from other people, I find it highly unlikely that you agreed on a whim."

"You mentioned that you yourself had improvised fire jutsu despite having no training. I want to know what you can do." None of her fire jutsu had very much power, but Soba had great control and a lot of chakra. Sasuke sighed quietly, relieved. The kunoichi appeared to be more than halfway competent, and that would make his job a lot easier.

The sun was at its highest point in the sky before Soba took a break. In reality, she hadn't really decided to rest so much as unceremoniously collapsed to her knees.

"I'm almost out of chakra, but lemme do one more." She muttered, pushing off of one knee to rise to her feet. Sasuke watched her struggle with mild interest; _he_ was exhausted and sweaty from their training session, let alone someone else. Despite her absolute exhaustion, she was soldiering on.

"That's not a good idea. We'll call it a day and continue tomorrow."  
>"I don't need rest yet. Just-" Her knees gave way and Sasuke, on reflex, lunged forward to catch her. "That's embarrassing." Those were her last words before passing out, draped over her fellow shinobi's left side. Naruto decided, at that moment, to show up. He popped out of the bushes, grinning away, undoubtedly concocting some fun activity to lure Soba into. His smile, however, contorted into an expression of incredulous rage when his eyes fell on ragdoll Soba in <em>Sasuke's arms. <em>

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?! ONE MORNING, AND YOU KILL THE WOMAN?! WHAT IS WRONG-" The blonde took off running in Sasuke's direction, the black-haired man opting to hang onto the kunoichi as she was likely his best form of defense against the Naruto bullet train of fury.

"She did it to herself, you moron! I didn't do anything. She's just exhausted." Sasuke retorted, his face returning to a neutral blank.

"I don't believe you, bastard. What did you do?!"

"I just told you-" Sasuke jabbed a finger in Naruto's chest. "She did it to herself." Their man-to-man staring contest was interrupted by some incoherent mumbling from the pile of humanity at their feet. Somewhere in their raging, Sasuke had dropped Soba to the ground.

"Water?" The two men looked down to see the kunoichi in question gesturing towards Naruto, who propped her up into a sitting position. "I could've maybe eased up a little, I guess." Sasuke snorted despite himself.

"The fire-style jutsu we were practicing take a lot more chakra than you're used to. Just rest this afternoon and we'll try again tomorrow morning." Soba barely had a chance to nod in agreement before the enigmatic shinobi vanished into the woods.

"Does he ever leave like a normal person?" Inquired the kunoichi. Naruto simply shook his head.

"You get used to it after awhile. It's sort of like Guy's poses, or Kakashi-sensei's Icha Icha. It's part of life."

"By the way, you never told me what Icha Icha was." Naruto stammered and changed the subject quickly.

"Let's just get you some food and a nap!" Soba took some peanuts out of her utility belt and munched on those while wobbling to her sore feet. Propped up on Naruto, she figured she could at least make it back to Dai's and her apartment before falling asleep.

* * *

><p>Soba had not made it nearly as far as her own bed before succumbing to exhaustion. Her blonde companion had noticed her getting heavier and heavier the further into the village they got, but he wasn't entirely prepared for her to just go limp on his shoulder, snoring softly. Naruto had avoided the main drag of the village simply to avoid probing eyes and awkward questions about why he was carrying a half-dead-looking kunoichi through town. The man half-expected his favorite silver-haired sensei to make a surprise appearance bearing Icha Icha novels. At this point, he really would not have been remotely surprised. He debated whether he should drag her back to Dai or just carry her to his apartment to nap. Certain parts of him thought it was an excellent idea to let her nap <em>on his bed<em>, whereas other, more intelligent parts suggested that she would probably sleep away the afternoon better in her own bed. It dawned on him that he didn't actually know where Soba was staying, so the decision courtesy of the Independent Republic of South Naruto won by default.

* * *

><p>The sky was almost dark when Naruto heard a knock on his front door. When he opened it, he was greeted by Dai's smiling face.<p>

"I figured my idiot sister would be here! I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" The taller man scanned the apartment. "Where is she?"

"She's still sleeping. She way overworked herself with Sasuke this morning and has been asleep for the entire afternoon." That is what Naruto thought, at least. Soba had woken up on several occasions, but she was enjoying being curled up on such a comfortable bed. It had the added bonus of being in Naruto's apartment, of course.

"Hmmm. I doubt she's still asleep. She would have needed to eat at least three times by now..." Dai walked around the corner to Naruto's bed and pulled a kunai out of his belt. Naruto's eyes flitted from kunai to Dai to Soba and back.

"What are you-?" Soba's twin threw the weapon, full-force, at his sister's head. Horrified, Naruto cried out. The kunoichi's hand snapped out and caught the grip end of the metal implement as it whizzed by her ear. One eye opened. The blonde continued staring. "What if she _had_ been asleep?!"

"She wasn't. I know her better than that." Dai gave his sister a mischievous look before turning back to Naruto. "She's just been using her exhaustion as an exc-" This time, Dai was on the receiving end of the kunai. He dodged it on its path to the living room wall. When the two men turned, they saw the metal stuck deep in the plaster. Moments later, Soba was on her feet, stretching. "You may want to shower, imouto. You smell like dead things." A dark brown eyebrow arched up by way of response.

"Thanks, bro."

"You should probably wash the sheets, Naruto. Just as a suggestion." The taller of the two twins just barely deflected a smack upside the head and countered with one of his own. Soba and Dai were almost on their way out of the apartment when Naruto gathered his thoughts.

"Do you want to go get some dinner? I mean, I'm getting pretty hungry and wouldn't mind having someone to go with me." Naruto looked down at his feet sheepishly, and during the pause, Dai thrust his sister forward towards the blonde.

"Well, Kiba and I have to systematically scar at least another 150 people tonight, so I can't, but Soba would be delighted to accompany you. As long as she showers first, or else we may get kicked out of the village for being offensive." A guttural growl came from somewhere in Soba's throat and Dai took that as his cue to leave. "Have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't!"

"The two of you are strange." Soba agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'm pretty sure he thinks he's playing matchmaker. Can we go back to my place so I can shower and change?" Naruto nodded.

* * *

><p>The next week played out similarly. Sasuke and Soba would near-murder each other on the training grounds, following which the latter would shower and nap at Naruto's house, followed by lunch and some hanging out with friends. Soba and Dai met a host of Konoha shinobi, of varying personalities, who were returning and leaving town in waves. Both of the twins were getting used to the faces and places of the Hidden Leaf, but their elders had only granted them two weeks' respite from their duties in Kusagakure.<p>

* * *

><p>Soba and Sasuke sat in the cool shade of a tree, both breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Despite the fact that autumn had gripped the village, that Monday was uncharacteristically warm, causing a need for multiple breaks. Even though Soba had only asked Sasuke to train her in fire-style jutsu, they had been enjoying hours of swordplay in between lessons. The black-haired man was impressed with how far she had come in a week and had very little to teach her that she couldn't herself learn with repetition. All that was left was to have a little fun with someone that could keep up with his blade. The kunoichi behind the blade had grown on him, too. She was sharp-witted and hard-working, and none too hard on the eyes, either.<p>

He threw a glance her way and let out a soft chuckle; her steely determination reminded him so much of his idiot best friend.

"What?" Soba asked, genuinely curious. She and Sasuke hadn't really spoken so much during their training sessions as verbally sparred, throwing out well-sharpened quips during clashes, and the kunoichi still found him baffling. His chuckle seemed completely out of place.

"I think I understand why he likes you so much." Soba was thankful she was red in the face from exertion because she felt herself flushing. _Again_. _What am I, a schoolgirl? _She thought to herself. Avoiding all eye contact, she probed further.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. The two of you have it bad for one another and when he shows up, the sexual tension hurts _me_." Silence. The Uchiha let out a throaty laugh. "You were giving me so much lip in training, and _now _you go quiet?

"Laughter is unbecoming of you. Could you just go back to the stoicism and general aloofness?" Sasuke's face returned to his impassive expression, but there was something in his eyes that wasn't there before. Amusement, perhaps? They went silent when a gentle breeze rolled through, cooling their burning skin. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hn?"

"Why do the two of you have similarly bandaged arms?" A hitch in the pale man's breathing.

"To put it simply, we were trying to kill each other and it only ended because we blew each other's arms off." The kunoichi tilted her head towards him, trying to discern whether he was just pulling her leg or not. "I know that you're aware of my history, so this shouldn't surprise you. I challenged him, my rival, to a fight to the death, right after the war ended." Sasuke's brow knotted while he took a brief pause. "And, like he always does, he survived and somehow saved my sorry ass in the process." The man hung his head. "He's an absolute idiot, but it's that idiot that I owe my life to."

"I didn't-"

"Few people do. Which is why I am going to say this - and if you ever tell anyone I said it, nobody will believe you - if you do anything to hurt him, I will come after you." His onyx eyes caught hers in a fierce glare, insisting that what he had just said was not in jest.

"I won't."

"Good. Let's go again." Seconds later, Sasuke was in the clearing, wielding his katana and gesturing for Soba to attack. Her mind switched into fight mode and she flew towards him, her katanas glinting in the aggressive sunlight.

"Soba!" The momentary mental switch that it took to hear Naruto's voice call her name was all it took to distract her. Sasuke's katana swiped upwards, cutting her sternum and catching the underside of her chin. She landed, skidding backwards and gave him an enraged look. His eyes widened to saucers when he saw what he had done. The kunoichi lashed out and cut his arm in retaliation. Naruto ran up in time to see the two faced off, both bleeding and scowling. Well, Soba was scowling; his stupid best friend looked like he was trying really hard not to look down. "What just happened?!" When the blonde stepped past Soba to stand between the two, he noticed exactly what it was that Sasuke was avoiding. Naruto stood next to his friend and joined him in crisis avoidance.

"What are you two doing? Did something inside you break? I think I'm-" The brunette looked down at her sternum and it dawned on her. Sasuke had inadvertently slit open the upper half of her workout tank top, cutting her in the process, but the real issue was that her boobs were extremely close to being released by the struggling cotton. Scandalized, she tried tied the fabric into a knot to preserve her dignity, only succeeding in pushing her cleavage partway up to her neck. "HAVE YOU NEVER SEEN A WOMAN BEFORE?" She swatted at them until they turned around. The kunoichi fished around in her utility belt to find a bandage so that she would stop bleeding from her chest and down her now-bare stomach. "Sasuke, you have made me into a bar wench. Thank you."

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><p>Thank you for reading! Comments are appreciated :)<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

**Last time: Sasuke accidentally makes Soba into a bar wench.**

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><p>"And you cut me, so we're even. Plus, that getup should help you alleviate some of the tension we talked about earlier." Sasuke gestured surreptitiously at the confused Naruto next to him. Soba launched herself at the black-haired man, fist-first.<p>

"Wait, what were you talking about earlier?! WHAT IS HAPPENING? SASUKE, WHY IS SHE PUNCHING YOU?" The blonde reached into the scrum of two bodies and pulled the Uchiha out, shaking him threateningly.

"Absolutely identical." Soba could have sworn she saw the amused twinkle flash in Sasuke's eyes for the briefest of moments. She stood, rooted the spot, panting from the exertion of trying to stop Sasuke's breathing. "You should ask her about it." He replied to Naruto's yelled question.

"Identical to what? Dobe, what the hell are you talking about?" The black-haired man pulled his collar from the blonde's grip and straightened out his long-sleeved shirt.

"Easy, usuratonkachi, I like this shirt."

"Could we maybe go someplace where I can get some more bandages?" Soba cut through the tense glances the two friends were exchanging. She gestured to the bandages on her chest that were already soaked through. "Hm?"

"I didn't do anything. Ask her about it." With a nod to Soba, Sasuke leapt off.

"He really knows how to make an overly dramatic exit, doesn't he?" The kunoichi mused out loud.

"He's a moron. Are you okay to walk? You're bleeding...a lot."

"Yeah, I'm fine." She turned her head to wince so he couldn't see it. "I also need a shirt pretty badly. At this rate, I'll graduate from bar wench to village wench." Naruto laughed, taking off his zip-up jacket for her. "I might stain it, though-"

"Don't worry about it." Flashing her a disarming smile that crinkled his eyes, he led the way back into town.

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><p>The medic-nin that ended up treating her was Naruto's old teammate and friend, Sakura. A pink-haired woman with a spitfire personality, Sakura was Soba's favourite type of person. As it turns out, the two kunoichi had a lot in common, so they chatted animatedly while Naruto oozed down the wall and flopped into a sitting position. He wasn't expecting a quick trip to the clinic to end up with him being witness to the world's fastest friendship formation. He also didn't like that someone was taking Soba's attention from him, as much as he hated to admit it to himself. Sakura had gotten Soba's bleeding under control in a flash, and giggled when the still-underdressed kunoichi explained how she ended up missing most of her shirt from a swordfight. The pink-haired jounin visibly flushed at the mention of Sasuke's name, but said nothing.<p>

"Here, have a few spare bandages," Sakura smiled warmly at Soba, pressing a white roll into her palm, "You're probably going to need to replace those tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Soba instinctively threw Naruto's jacket over her scrap of a shirt, scooping up her katanas with her right hand. "Any idea where I can get a decent shirt in Konoha? This one was my favourite, but it's not really going to do me much good anymore. Plus, the colour of Naruto's jacket doesn't really help with the intimidation factor." The other kunoichi laughed and gave her directions to a store she was fond of, hinting that she may want to leave Naruto behind if she wanted to get some quality shopping in.

"Hey, I can go shopping! It's just a shirt, right?" After a moment of silence and a shared look of understanding, the two women guffawed raucously at Naruto's statement.

"Naruto-kun, do you want to step outside for a moment?" Sakura suggested.

"Why?"

"JUST GO OUTSIDE!" Switching gears from delicate to impatient rage-monster, the medic-nin firecracker exploded on the blonde. Naruto withdrew into his white t-shirt and sulked all the way out the door, hoping to elicit some pity from the brunette.

"I'm not going to have to strip or anything now, am I?" Soba chuckled at Sakura's frantic head-shaking.

"No, I just wanted to talk to you about Naruto."

"What about?"

"Well, rumor has it that the two of you have been spending an awful lot of time together-"

"Rumors already?!"

"Oh, definitely. If you're here for longer than 20 minutes, we'll take notice. Shinobi have paid particular attention to you because you were spotted wearing his shirt, and then walking back to his apartment often...let's just say that people's imaginations have been busy." Soba buried her face in her hands, groaning softly.

"That's really not what I wanted." The brunette looked imploringly into the pale green eyes looking at her.

"Ah, nobody wants rumors, but if you're going to get involved with that charming idiot, you should expect them. Everyone is going to want to know everything about you and they're going to want to make sure that you're good enough. Don't worry, though! Once you head back to your own village, it's Naruto that's going to get drowned in questions." Sakura grinned devilishly, then paused. "I wanted to give you a heads-up, woman to woman, you know?"

"I appreciate it, but I'm going to be paranoid from here on out." Mind reeling, Soba wondered whether she really was good enough for him. The silence drew out longer than she expected once her mind started spiraling in on itself.

"He seems to think you're good enough, if that's what you're wondering." The emerald eyes snapped out of their brief reverie. "If you're anything like me, that's what I would be thinking."

"I-"

"He never looked at me like he looks at you." The pink haired woman offered Soba a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes.

* * *

><p>Naruto was talking to her as they left Sakura, but Soba didn't hear a word he said. She was trying to make sense of what had just happened.<p>

"Can I ask you something?" The kunoichi said, turning towards Naruto, a little hesitant.

"Yeah! What?"

"Were you and Sakura ever together? I mean, if you don't want to answer, that's fine, I was just wondering because-" She broke off when she saw Naruto nodding in the affirmative.

"I had a crush on her for pretty much my whole childhood," Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning, "-and she finally agreed to date me, but we really didn't work well together. I think she thought it'd get her over Sasuke, but...well." The blonde shrugged, his cheeks still displaying that grin. Soba admired how he let anything just roll off of his back; she was the living, breathing embodiment of 'taking everything to heart.'

"Huh."

"Could you tell from us being together? I didn't think we ever got awkward, or anything..."

"Oh, no, no, it was just something she said-"

"After kicking me out of the room?"

"Yeah," Soba chuckled. "You made very convincing puppy dog eyes!" Soba could tell that Naruto _really _wanted to know what Sakura had said about him, but he wasn't sure if it he should ask. She could see the mental strain etched across his face. "It was nothing, really, just a passing comment that made me wonder! Don't think about it too hard!" It was obvious that the blonde's inquisitive side wasn't quite satisfied, but he did his best to look the part.

"Okay! So, um, should we get you some clothes before we run into Kakashi-sensei and he-" Naruto's jaw dropped abruptly after spotting a certain tell-tale mess of silver hair behind a building. He had been making a joke about running into him, but lo and behold... "Kakashi-sensei." The man strolled out from behind the building casually, as though he had just merely been inspecting the wall's brickwork.

"Oh, Naruto! I wasn't expecting to find you here!"

"I live here, sensei." The older man looked up at the building.

"Not here, you don't."

"I mean, in Konoha."

"Maa, I know that. I'm not senile, just-" An out-of-breath Iruka skidded up behind the Hokage, a murderous scowl consuming his normally relaxed features.

"-approaching middle age. Kakashi, do you know how hard you are to keep up with? You have a meeting in five minutes!" Naruto knew that tone of voice well, and when it was combined with the teacher stance, the brown-haired man was not to be messed with. Iruka put his hands, balled into fists, onto his hips and shifted his weight to one leg irritably. Naruto giggled in the manliest way he knew how. Kakashi slouched more deeply and winced, leaning away from his friend as though that would assuage his anger.

"Iruuuka, I was just taking a stroll to think." Iruka was having none of it.

"Hokage-sama-" Soba began.

"None of that. You can address me like Naruto does." Kakashi's eye curved as he smiled. Soba nodded.

"Kakashi-sensei, before you go, may I ask you a question?"

"If we're to be technical, you just did!" The hokage laughed at his own joke, earning a reproving glare from Iruka and an impressive eye roll from his former charge. "Okay, no, go ahead."

"You mentioned something called Icha Icha a few days ago, and Naruto won't tell me what it is. What is it?" The silver-haired man became what one could only describe as enraptured. Naruto looked like he was about to vomit, and Iruka's eyes widened noticeably, as though he was extraordinarily curious about what was going to follow.

"Oh, Soba-chan." His lanky arm wrapped around her narrow shoulders and pulled her to his side. "I must educate you in the ways of Icha Icha!" Iruka and Naruto looked scandalized. "No, not like that, you two. Please. Anyway, Soba-chan, you have missed out on such an influential piece of literature! Ah, what do they teach in the schools these days?!"

"Not porn, that's what." Trust the former Academy sensei to interject dryly.

"Shush, Iruka, we have work to do."

"You do, _Hokage-sama_, you do. MEETINGS. REMEMBER?"

"I do vaguely recall something about a meeting. Hm!" Several hand seals later, and both Kakashi and Soba were gone in a poof of smoke. Naruto had whipped his head from left to right so quickly that he had jangled his brain, and Iruka just looked unimpressed.

"I feel like I live my life in hurricane Kakashi's wake," The brunette muttered. "Bye, Naruto!" Iruka was off, leaving the blonde alone in the middle of the road.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MY LIFE?!" He yelled, taking off towards the Hokage tower.

* * *

><p>"Hok-"<p>

"Try again!"

"Kakashi-sensei, I am really inappropriately dressed to be anywhere near visiting dignitaries." Soba's arms were crossed over her chest, the orange jumpsuit sagging and wrinkled on her lean frame.

"Come to think of it, why are you wearing Naruto's sweater? Did you forget to bring clothes?"

"No, but I had a..._mishap_ in training with Sasuke and haven't had the time to go change just yet, or buy a new shirt for exercising in."

"Ah. I thought you had perhaps _slept over_ at Naruto's again." The kunoichi went sheet-white. "Ha! I'm just kidding. Or am I..." The last sentence was muttered conspiratorially under his breath. Soba looked out the window of the Hokage tower at the village below to hide the burning in her cheeks.

"I don't really mean to bother you, but why exactly am I here?" The brunette fidgeted, feeling unprepared for whatever it was that was coming. She had her katanas, yes, but she also looked like a sweaty street urchin with a bloodied bandage beneath her chin.

"I guess I forgot that part!" Kakashi did an awful lot of smiling, it seemed. "I was going to go to this likely-useless meeting, and then tell you all about Icha Icha."

"Could I not have just come see you after your meeting?"

"Maaa, yes, I suppose." The man put one long finger to where Soba presumed his mouth was, and tapped it gently against the fabric of the mask. "You do have a point. Come, let's begin your education while Naruto and Iruka catch up." Kakashi whipped a small orange book out of his pocket and placed it on the desk in front of him.

"Is this it?"

"It _is._ Prepare yourself for a revelatory experience! This is the first issue, but I have all of them. Multiple copies, of course." Soba picked up the volume and brushed her hand over the cover before opening to the first page.

"Thank you!" She bowed quickly. "I'll go sit outside and read. I'd rather not be in the way of your important conversations."

"They're not important; it's politics." The man chuckled, sitting down behind his desk. "Enjoy!" Soba waved and hopped out to the rooftop. At that moment, two high-velocity shinobi flew in through the opposite window. "Weren't you the one that told me that respectable shinobi enter through doors when they're not on missions, Iruka?" The look he got in response was enough. Naruto looked around the office.

"Where did Soba go?"

"To read outside." Kakashi waved his hand in the general direction of the window while focusing most of his attention on the open scroll before him.

"Oh, you're going to pervert her..." The blonde whined, jumping out to look for the kunoichi.

"Pervert? Kids these days have no appreciation for literature."

"I have no idea why I put up with you." Iruka re-tied his ponytail to look presentable and stalked out to get the waiting dignitary.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Comments are always welcome and appreciated :)<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

"Soba-chan! DON'T READ THAT!" The blonde ran towards the kunoichi sprawled across the roof, his arm outstretched. Her head popped up from behind the luridly orange novel.

"Why not? It seems interesting enough so far..."

"It is porn. Like, literal porn." Soba blinked up at him, face impassive.

"Is that why you were so reluctant to tell me about it?" The orange book was still open in her hands, being lewd. Naruto wanted to slap it away, envisioning a future Soba with a black mask on, slouching around and hiding behind the pages when she was meant to be training chuunin. Realistically, the kunoichi wasn't going to turn into his former sensei just by reading the book, but it was a legitimate concern on Naruto's part. The blonde's overactive imagination then flashed to Soba with red lines down her cheeks, her hair long, scruffy and white, sneaking around and spying on men in a bath house. While this internal narrative took place, the woman had resumed reading.

"_Soba_." He admonished.

"Are you uncomfortable with the _adult content?_"

"Are you not?" Soba shook her head no, and Naruto became mentally paralyzed. Sure, it was deeply disturbing that Kakashi-sensei had lent an aggressively sexy novel to the woman that he, his former student, was interested in, but there was a part of him rubbing his metaphorical chin, thinking _I could work with that_. That small part seized the rest of his thoughts, holding them hostage. He felt the air around him grow warmer, and he had to resist the desire to do something inappropriate_. _What that was, his mind had yet to establish.

"You know, knowing he was reading smut makes all the stories you told me about Kakashi-sensei so much funnier." Naruto just mumbled incoherently. "You okay?"

"It's really warm here."

"Is it?" Thankfully, the kunoichi was much more observant of people than Naruto thought she was. She struggled with romantic emotions, but more visceral things, like desire? Arousal? Oh, she could spot that a mile away. She had intentionally been nonchalant about the saucy novel to see the blonde's reaction; his flustered face had been all that she needed. She was only on the fifth page and hadn't gotten remotely close to anything suggestive, but she had read the blurb. It was fun to play along. "You know what? I am feeling kind of warm, now that you mention it." Soba was actually feeling a little chilly due to the fall breeze, but she unzipped the jacket to her navel, fully aware that, given her sitting position, her chest was really, _really_ close to emigrating from her shirt. She lifted her head from the book in time to see Naruto stumble and fall off the roof like a sack of potatoes. A pained groan issued from an overhang below Kakashi's office.

* * *

><p>"It was a pleasure meeting you, and I look forward to our continued friendship." Kakashi bowed, removing his hat only when the man he was meeting with had left. Iruka closed the doors behind himself after escorting the elderly visitor out of the office. Out of the corner of his eye, the chuunin glimpsed something fly past the window and land with a loud thud somewhere below.<p>

"Kakashi, did you see that?"

"I sensed something large flying by the window, but I didn't see anything." Kakashi shrugged off his Hokage robes, more comfortable dressed as a regular shinobi, and joined his friend at the sill.

"Naruto, what in the world are you doing?" Iruka really never missed an opportunity to call back to his teaching days, the Copy-nin mused.

"Hurting."

"Sounds great!" The silver-haired man waved at him, smiling. His brown-haired companion swiveled his head to the right, confused.

"He just told you he was in pain."

"Oh, he did? I didn't hear."

"You were right here."

"I wasn't listening."

"He said _one_ word."

"I just listened for fifteen total minutes in that meeting. I've hit my quota."

"Your quota."

"Yes, it means 'a limited or fixed number of-'" Iruka shoved him out the window.

"That was for doodling kissy faces and fluffy puppies during the meeting." The brown-haired man yelled down, his arms crossed, a satisfied smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

"How do you always know?" Kakashi groaned.

"I taught children."

* * *

><p>Soon, a forehead-protector-wrapped bun peeked over the roof to see what all the noise was about. Soba expected to see Naruto lying on the overhang, but was surprised to see the Hokage in a pile on top of the blonde. She stood up and leapt down, tucking the world's most controversial orange book into her utility belt. When she touched down, it was Kakashi that looked up at her first.<p>

"I was betrayed by my closest friend." The mask muffled the dramatic tone somewhat. The kunoichi considered the statement, then looked up to the window at Iruka for confirmation. The brown-haired man was audibly rolling his eyes, but gave Soba a mischievous wink. She suppressed a giggle. Iruka was fast becoming one of her favorite people.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto groaned, "You are really heavy."

"Maaa, dissention in the ranks! First Iruka, and now you? Yes, I may have gained some weight since stopping missions, but who are you to comment on my physique?" Soba was vibrating with silent laughter and extended an arm out to help the psychologically distraught Kakashi-sensei to his feet. "See? She is not even a shinobi of Konoha and she offers help instead of discussing my physical attributes. _And _she is supportive of Icha-Icha. I should fire both you and Iruka and hire Soba to work for me."

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't work for you..." The blonde rolled over and staggered to his feet.

"Well, I can adopt her as my former student."

"How does that even work?"

"I'm Hokage. I am capable of doing these things."

"I would be honored to be adopted as a former student, Kakashi-sensei." The woman bowed deeply, an amused smile threatening to stretch her cheeks further than she could manage. Naruto stared at her, mouth agape, and spluttered laughter was heard from the window above.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" The blonde huffed.

"And why's that?" She quipped, hands in her pant pockets. Naruto flapped his mouth open and closed like a goldfish while Kakashi and Iruka chuckled.

"Because we're friends!"

"I guess you're right. You did lend me your sweater after all!" Naruto nodded, as though the action would cement her statement.

"We should probably get you a shirt now, ne?"

"Ah, yeah, that's right. Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, I think we'll be taking our leave now. If you ever decide to formally retroactively adopt a student, I would love to be considered." Kakashi nodded solemnly in reply.

"Bye!" Iruka grinned.

"Before you go, I expect reports on your mission status." Kakashi said in a serious tone.

"Mission status?" Soba inclined her head in confusion.

"Icha-Icha, of course!" The visible eye curved as he grinned. The blonde standing beside the kunoichi felt tendrils of dread creeping up his limbs.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

* * *

><p>Naruto now understood why Sakura suggested that Soba go shirt shopping on her own. He was draped over a chair by the changing room, praying for a swift end to his misery. Soba had picked out a pile of shirts to try on quickly enough, but he couldn't begin to understand why each needed to be analyzed for fifteen minutes. It's a shirt. Her utility belt hung from the back of the chair, and a familiar orange color peeked out from one of the pockets. Falling victim to his own morbid curiosity, he shimmied the book out and surreptitiously opened to the first page. As though she had sensed his motion, Soba flung open the change room door and stood there, hands on her hips in a victorious stance. Naruto quickly shoved the novel under his thighs to cover it.<p>

"This one!" The shirt was scarcely bigger than the torn up one, Naruto thought, but he wasn't complaining in the least. The long-sleeved black crop top with a deep v-neck was form-fitting, and judging by her facial expression, was to Soba's satisfaction. The bottom of the shirt, which sat just above the bottom of the kunoichi's rib cage, had two strips of ribbon that she was struggling to tie. "Naruto, could you help me?" She gestured to the undone strips of fabric. The blonde was then faced with a conundrum. He was sitting _on_ Icha-Icha, and if he stood up, the orange color would attract Soba's attention like a beacon. If he called over the shopkeeper, he would miss the opportunity to be closer to the kunoichi, but would also avoid incurring her wrath and/or mockery. Soba's eyebrows were raised questioningly, watching sweat suddenly beading on Naruto's forehead. The blonde stood and crossed the distance between them in a flash, turning the kunoichi around so that she wasn't facing the chair. In his haste to distract her, he had overestimated the distance between them. Soba supported herself from falling by bracing her arms against the door frame; Naruto had come at her so quickly that he had knocked her body forward. Realizing what he had done, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to standing.

"The...um...shirt is nice." The blonde mumbled, his body a scarce two inches away from her back. Soba thanked the deities that she wasn't facing him because she was more than a little flustered at his proximity.

"Thank you. Um, could you tie the ribbon, please?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto was trying to act casually, but he couldn't pull his wits about him fast enough. He was frozen, his hands still holding her bare waist. He raised his arms to the ribbon, his fingers lingering on her side for a moment too long to be anything but sensual. Soba was desperately thinking of anything she could to distract her mind from his touch. Her brain walked through kunai throwing techniques, her village elders in loincloths, and anything else that could be as far from sexy as possible. None of her tactics seemed to be working. She pressed her lips together tightly.

"Could you hurry up?" Her voice came out shrill and cracked at the end. Naruto nodded, but he couldn't keep his hands steady.

"Sir? You dropped this when you stood up!" The shopkeeper approached Naruto, holding a certain incriminating piece of evidence in her withered hand. Soba's head swiveled on her shoulders like an owl's, and a ghastly grin seized her face. The blonde jumped about five feet into the air. He then tied the ribbon expertly quickly, and scrambled back.

"Oh, it must have fallen out of your utility belt!" A nervous chuckle barely escaped his lips.

"I think I saw it slip off of the chair, sir." Naruto was caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, and Soba could not be more delighted about it.

"It's mine, thank you. I must have left it there." The kunoichi accepted the book from the gracious old woman and tucked it back in her belt. She then paid for the shirt, put her belt and katanas back on, and dragged Naruto out of the store.

"A closet pervert, huh?" Once outside, Soba could not resist ribbing him about Icha-Icha.

"I'm not a _pervert_." He hissed.

"Whatever you say!" She set off down the road.

"What does that make you?" Naruto caught up to her.

"I'm just curious. Not perverted."

"But it's meant for adults."

"Naruto, we're in our twenties. I'm pretty sure we qualify."

"But it's _Icha-Icha_." Soba shrugged, grabbing the book and flipping to where she left off. Naruto's indignant protests had only served to make her want to read it more. "Soba-chaaaaan, not in public." The blonde didn't miss a corner of her mouth quirking into what he would soon learn was a dangerous smirk. Soba offered Naruto some peanuts with her free hand. He shook his head no, lips pursed angrily.

* * *

><p>She had originally asked about Icha-Icha out of curiosity, which then turned into a desire to make Naruto awkward, but she ended up finishing the first book later that evening. Dai pretended to faint when he saw Soba <em>reading<em>, of all things.

"Sister? Is that really you? Did you die during training and return to haunt me?" He was on his knees, clawing at her feet.

"Shoo, nii-san, Kakashi-sensei lent me a novel."

"I had no idea that you even knew how to read." Soba shoved her brother's face away with her bare foot. "Wait, is that what I think it is?"

"Depends. What do you think it is?"

"That looks like that series that Akira was reading when we took our jounin exams! He snuck around with these colorful romance novels and-HA! You're reading _romance_. Are you well? Did you suddenly develop feelings AND learn to read? This is too much for me. I need to lie down." Dai dodged a shuriken. "You must be an impostor, sent by the Leaf to spy on me. That's the only explanation."

"Brother of mine, don't forget that I still have to pay you back for spying on me the other night." The older sibling shut up immediately.

* * *

><p>Soba ran into Iruka on her way up the stairs to Kakashi's office after her training the next day, nearly knocking a pile of scrolls out of his overburdened arms.<p>

"Aah, I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei! Is Kakashi-sensei in his office?" The older man regained his balance and made eye contact over all of the paper.

"He is, surprisingly, but I doubt he's doing anything productive. Just let yourself in! Are you here for a-" He cleared his throat, "-mission report?" She nodded earnestly.

"If you're not careful, he might take a shine to you, and then you'll be left doing all his dirty work." Iruka muttered, more to himself than anything, and continued down the stairs carefully. "Stupid doodles." The kunoichi smiled, taking the steps two at a time, and knocking on the large wooden door when she arrived on the landing. She felt the presence of other shinobi but saw nobody; Soba assumed this was his personal guard.

"I'm busy!" Soba frowned, listening intently. There was a great deal of scratching on paper coming from within the doors.

"I'm here for a mission report, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Oh, Soba! Please come in." As it turned out, the scratching was the sound of the Rokudaime drawing doodles of his ninken on what appeared to be an important document. He gestured to the empty seat in front of him. Soba reached into her utility belt, procured the orange book, and delicately placed it on the table. The two shared a conspiratorial smile as the woman seated herself in the wooden chair. "Finished already?"

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei."

"Excellent!" Soba couldn't imagine there being a happier kage in the whole world. "Here is the next one."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome :)<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto sat down first, his feet dangling over Tsunade's stone forehead. Soba was still standing, reveling in the autumn breeze that was swirling multicolored leaves around.

"It's going to be hard to go home after being here." She whispered, the words nearly lost in the wind.

"It's a hard place to leave every time I go, too."

"I'm-" She paused, wondering whether now was the time to say something like this. "-going to miss you." Naruto's bright blue eyes darted up to look at her. Unbidden, a gentle smile crept up his face. Soba couldn't bring herself to make eye contact, so she stared off into the horizon, hoping she hadn't just made everything really awkward. The blonde gently wrapped his long fingers around her wrist and tugged, trying to get her to sit by him. He was going to miss her more than he could articulate with words, so he pulled her close to his side once she had sat down. Soba let out a contented sigh, resting her head on the firm shoulder of one of the greatest shinobi in recent memory. Naruto's fingers absentmindedly traced patterns along her side as they gazed across the rooftops of Konoha. The silence lasted a total of ten blissful minutes before Naruto began squirming.

"There's something stabbing me in the side. Could you move your belt around?" Soba sat upright and reached into the pouch, pulling out the second issue of Icha-Icha to move it.

"_That _is what was poking me?! Wait. It's not orange." The kunoichi made her face into the picture of innocence, and Naruto jumped like the book had stung him. "You...you finished the other one." A nod.

"It's actually really good! Very, um, racy, at parts, but the story's well-written. Here, let me read you an excerpt." Soba flipped to the beginning of the book. "Well, let's get started!" She cleared her throat. Naruto swallowed thickly. The kunoichi got into it easily, reading the parts like it was an audition. The blonde watched her lips move, more captivated by her than by the words rolling off her tongue. His distraction meant that the moment he did tune in, he heard the absolutely raunchiest possible combination of words in any written language. "Okay. Wait. How does that even make sense? I can't even bend that way. Can you? I mean, look at this description." She paused mid-sentence, staring at the passage and biting her lower lip. Naruto stared at the teeth digging into the soft lips, subconsciously licking his own. She snapped him out of his daze by thrusting the book under his nose and stabbing a finger at a sentence. After he got over the initial shock of actually having read a sentence of Icha-Icha, Naruto screwed his face up, performing impressive mental gymnastics to sort out what the man was doing to his lover. He mimed some of the angles and noted Soba was trying the same.

"Maybe he is missing some bones."

"She's missing more. There has to be some way to-" Soba put the book down and did a headstand, like the book suggested, arching her back closer to the angle described. In her attempt to twist to the correct angle, she lost her balance and collapsed into a pile. "-no. This just doesn't make any sense."

"Hmm..." They murmured in unison, looming over the small book like figuring out the characters' pose would solve the world's problems.

"Ah well!" Soba shut the book with a snap, tucked it into a pocket and took a deep breath of the evening air. "Where are we going for dinner?"

"Uhhh?" Though the kunoichi had changed gears in a second, Naruto could not; his brain had decided to return to the image of Soba biting her lip in that unintentionally sexy way.

"Dai gave me a massive lecture on why I should eat foods other than ramen, peanuts and apples, and though I disagree entirely, I am completely willing to try something new. Ideas?" She suppressed a giggle when she caught sight of his facial expression, pretty sure of where his mind had gone. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes were completely glazed over, and sharpened their focus when she nudged him in the shoulder playfully.

"Welcome back to the living. Let's go eat!" Sluggishly, he got to his feet and took off after the energetic Soba, noticing that he was significantly more observant of the movements of her body than ever before.

* * *

><p>Soba performed her hand seals much faster than she had managed the past few days.<p>

"Fire style, great fireball technique!" The kunoichi inhaled deeply, letting the fire smolder and build within her. She then expelled the biggest fireball she had mustered since she started training. It left a massive crater in its wake and even Sasuke subtly raised an eyebrow.

"Hn. You'd think you were descended from an Uchiha." Soba glowed with a combination of sweat and pride.

"I might be."

"You were born in Kusagakure."

"My adoptive parents were born there, yes." Sasuke's brow knotted together.

"You were adopted?"

"Yeah." The dark eyes focused on her face.

"I wondered how a fire style user had been born into that village."

"Now you know."

"Is Dai-"

"His affinity is earth." A pause.

"Hn. Fraternal twins." Soba nodded.

"Doesn't it make you mad that you know nothing about your family?"

"Not really." The kunoichi shrugged. Not one to prolong serious discussions about the past, Soba started making hand seals again.

* * *

><p>The evening before their departure, Kiba suggested that they all go out on the town for a raucous night of drinking and tomfoolery. Dai was the one that had used the word tomfoolery, and then had to explain it to his friend. It was a Friday night, so the entire village atmosphere was more relaxed. Dai and Soba were back at their apartment getting ready, having set 9 pm as a meeting time for a late dinner. The kunoichi, an apple between her teeth, was rustling through her pack for some makeup.<p>

"Dai, haf you theen my eyewiner?" She called out to her brother, who was trying to negotiate his hair into something presentable.

"Yeah, I was using it to make myself extra pretty for Kiba tonight." Dai drawled, but his sarcasm went unappreciated. His twin growled in frustration. "Are you trying to make yourself pretty for a certain blonde whose name may or may not be Naruto?" He saw a scowl reflected in the mirror in front of him.

"I just want to look nice."

"It's going to take more than just eyeliner to make a troll into a princess."

"You keep sassing, and I'll keep increasing your payback."

"I'm beginning to think you're all bark and no bite. That boy's got you all soft." The older twin smiled in a genuine way at his dear sister.

"I. Am. Not. Soft."

"Squishy, like a stuffed animal. Or onigiri." Nothing delighted Dai more than seeing Soba's blood pressure rise. The kunoichi stalked into the bathroom and mussed up Dai's hair in retaliation.

"My eyeliner is right HERE! Why didn't you tell me?" She brandished a small, brown pencil.

"Like I said, I was making myself beautiful." He looked at his sister and pretended to jump from shock.

"Oof, you best catch up. You only have an hour." She delivered a loving right hook to his side.

* * *

><p>Soba had, for the first time in years, dressed up and done her makeup fully. She walked a little behind Dai, self-conscious about her appearance.<p>

"Do I look okay?" She stammered.

"Soba, you will go to the grocery store wearing gi pants and chest wrap, with blood and dirt smeared across half of your body, and you ask me _now _if you look okay?" The woman was uncharacteristically meek. It was as though taking off her katanas and battle gear had taken her confidence, too. "He likes you when you're sweaty and nasty - which is often, might I add - so of course he'll still like you with a little bit of makeup on your face."

"That's not why I dressed up."

"Yes, it is. You look great, imouto." Dai pulled her to his side in a quick hug.

"You actually smell good, Dai. On the prowl tonight?"

"Hardly. I just found my soap." Dai had not fussed with his clothes nearly as much as Soba had; he was wearing plain black pants, a green t-shirt and a hooded sweater to ward off the cold. For once in her life, the kunoichi had abandoned all practical sensibility and had put on a flirty plum-colored skirt and the black shirt she had bought with Naruto earlier that week. Her long, brown hair was curled, cascading down her back, and her forehead protector served as her headband. The first person she caught sight of when they approached the restaurant was Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi waved the two of them over eagerly, mouth forming a surprised 'o' upon seeing Soba.

"You look great!" She smiled.

"Don't seem so surprised!" Soba laughed, still wringing her hands nervously. "You look really good too, Sakura! That top is cute!" Sakura had not shorted herself in getting ready, either. She was wearing a loose, red and pink top over a pair of short, white shorts, and her hair was tidier than she usually kept it. Kiba strolled up five minutes after the twins, dressed much like Dai.

"Already sharing clothes?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"No, we just both have great taste." Dai muttered. "Besides, Kiba has short little legs. We can't share clothes." The tattooed man smacked his friend.

"Who are you calling short?"

"I just said that you have short legs, not that you're short."

"That's the same thing!"

"No, it isn't."

"It is!"

"It isn't. But you are, in fact, short." The two bickered back and forth.

* * *

><p>"You know I don't <em>do <em>social."

"Come on, temeee, just this one time."

"No."

"Come ooooon."

"I said, no."

"I'm buying."

"Hn."

"Is that a yes?"

"No, it's a 'hn.'"

"Go put on something that you wouldn't wear to a funeral."

* * *

><p>"Is that...Sasuke? How did Naruto manage to convince him to come?" Kiba wondered out loud, breaking off his pointless fight with Dai. In the meantime, several other friends of Kiba and Naruto's had joined the group. Shikamaru, a bored-looking shinobi with brown hair in a ponytail had arrived with two others: Ino, a bubbly, long-haired blonde and Chouji, a good-natured, chubby man with spirals on his cheeks.<p>

"Who else are we waiting for?" Ino asked, hands on her slim hips.

"Lee, Tenten, Shino and Hinata should be here soon. Lucky that we're all in town for a night together, ne?"

"Someone, please, tell me Guy-sensei is away; I don't think I could handle his 'youth' randomly showing up tonight. Lee by himself is a handful..." An unidentified male voice mumbled.

"I think a lot of the older jounin are getting together, too. This could get messy..." A female voice.

"Oi!" Naruto ran up to the group and was greeted warmly. Sasuke skulked up behind him, trying to avoid how sensational everyone thought his presence was.

"Do you own anything in any other color, Sasuke?"

"This isn't black. It's navy."

"Sasuke-kun! We're gonna make you dance by the end of the night!"

"Naruto! How'd you get him to come out?"

The chatter rose in volume as the old friends caught up. The remaining four shinobi they had all been waiting for showed up, slipping easily amongst their teammates. Soba and Dai got sucked into the throng and got to know the lively group. Dai seemed to have an easier time of it since he wasn't the center of major gossip, working the crowd like only he knew how. Naruto, on the other hand, was doing everything he could to try and get to Soba from all the bodies. He had spotted her head bobbing in the crowd, but was intercepted by Shikamaru on two separate occasions. When the group had piled into the restaurant, it was all Naruto could do to get anywhere near the kunoichi. The shinobi horde had occupied a long banquet table, and the blonde spotted Dai, but the woman he was looking for was nowhere to be found.

"Naruto, she went to the bathroom. It's that way." Sakura pointed him down the hallway to his left, and smiled. He gave her a thumbs-up and peeled out of the dining room. He hadn't made it far down the hallway before he spotted Soba turning the corner. His mouth parted slightly in shock, keeping up with the slow trek of his eyes up her body. Naruto noted how long her legs stretched in the skirt she was wearing, and how accentuated her curves were. The makeup served only the purpose of making her eyes look somehow greener than they were before. There was no way that there was enough time left in his life to marvel at the woman before him. She stared back, equally surprised at seeing him in black pants and a button up shirt that couldn't possibly belong to him.

"You took your hair down!" He commented, that being the only thing he could coherently say.

"Mhm! It took forever to curl, though. I had to enlist my super-manly brother to help me." She idly tossed a few of the strands forward over her shoulder. Soba smoothed her skirt, still nervous about being in such revealing clothing.

"You don't need to be so worried." Naruto fumbled for words when she took a step closer to him.

"Hah. I didn't know you even owned clothes that weren't orange." The blonde flushed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "That shirt looks good on you." Even though Naruto was the one to force Sasuke to wear something that wasn't somber, the stubborn Uchiha had made him change too. He self-consciously tugged on the collar of his form-fitting blue-gray shirt.

"Sasuke made me wear it because he said if he had to wear something that wasn't black, I had to avoid orange." He scratched the back of his head again and grinned. Soba smiled, imagining the scenario.

"But he wore navy, which is pretty much black."

"We already fought about it. I gave in because I actually wanted him to show up."

"By some miracle, he did. Well, we're both awkward and in bizarre clothes for the night. Let's make the most of it!" The kunoichi made to head back towards the dining area, but was stopped by Naruto saying her name softly. She swiveled on her heel. "Hm?"

"You...um. You look beautiful." Both of them looked down briefly at their feet and Soba felt a distinct flutter in the pit of her stomach when she lifted her eyes to meet his. Her inner self berated her for losing her composure, yet again. It was fast becoming a very distracting habit.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I've been updating quickly because I've been procrastinating like a champ, but there is a good chance the next chapter will take a lot longer to write (scary midterms coming up :|). Thanks for reading! Comments are appreciated :)**


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